phonotactic
/ˌfoʊnəˈtæktɪk/
adjective
- Relating to the rules or patterns that govern how sounds can be combined in a particular language.
- Linguists study phonotactic patterns to understand how languages organize their sound systems.
- The child's speech errors often violated the phonotactic rules of her native language.
- English has phonotactic constraints that prevent words from starting with the sound 'ng'.
noun
- A rule or constraint that determines which sequences of sounds are allowed in a language.
- Learning the phonotactics of a new language helps you pronounce words more naturally.
- One common phonotactic in English is that a word cannot begin with the sound 'tl'.
- The phonotactic that bans three consonants in a row at the start of a syllable is found in many languages.