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Phonemics is a branch of linguistics that focuses on the smallest units of sound that distinguish meaning in a language. These units are called phonemes. Phonemics studies how phonemes are organized and used within a language, including their distribution, allophonic variation, and the rules that govern their combination. It also examines how phonemes are perceived and produced by speakers.

Phonemics is distinct from phonetics, which deals with the physical properties of speech sounds. While phonetics describes the sounds of a language, phonemics focuses on the sounds that are meaningful in a language. For example, in English, the sounds /p/ and /b/ are distinct phonemes, as they can change the meaning of a word (e.g., "pat" vs. "bat"). However, the difference between /p/ and /b/ is not a phonemic distinction in languages like Spanish, where both sounds are used interchangeably.

Phonemics plays a crucial role in language acquisition, as children must learn the phonemic inventory of their language and the rules governing the combination of phonemes. It also has practical applications in fields such as speech therapy, language teaching, and speech recognition technology. By understanding the phonemic structure of a language, linguists can gain insights into the cognitive processes underlying language use and acquisition.