Segment (linguistics)
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In [[linguistics]] (specifically, [[phonetics]]), the term '''''segment''''' may be defined as “any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech.”<ref>''A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics'', David Crystal, 2003, pp. 408–409</ref>
By 'discrete', this means units that are separate and individual, such as [[consonant]]s and [[vowel]]s, which occur in a distinct temporal order. Other units, such as [[tone (linguistics)|tone]], [[stress (linguistics)|stress]], and sometimes [[secondary articulation]]s such as [[nasalization]], may coexist with multiple segments and cannot be discretely ordered with them. These elements are termed [[Prosody (linguistics)|suprasegmental]]. It is not clear how the concept of segment applies to [[sign language]]s.
In [[phonetics]], the smallest perceptible '''segment''' is a [[phone]].
In [[phonology]], there is a subfield of [[segmental phonology]]. It deals with the analysis of speech into [[phoneme]]s (or ''segmental phonemes''), which correspond fairly well to phonetic segments of the analysed speech.
When analyzing the inventory of segmental units in any given [[language]], some segments will be found to be ''marginal,'' in the sense that they are only found in onomatopoeic words, loan words, or a very limited number of ordinary words, but not throughout the language. Marginal segments, especially in loan words, are often the source of new segments in the general inventory of a language. This appears to have been the case with English {{IPA|/ʒ/}}, which originally only occurred in French loans.
==References==
<references />
David Crystal, ''A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics'', Blackwell, 2003. [http://print.google.com/print?hl=en&id=bSxjt1irqh4C Info at Google Print].
Carlos Gussenhoven & Haike Jacobs, "Understanding Phonology", Hodder & Arnold, 1998. 2nd edition 2005.
[[Category:Phonology]]
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