zerophoneme

Zerophoneme is a theoretical concept in linguistics representing a sound that is phonemically distinct but has zero acoustic realization. In simpler terms, it's a sound that speakers of a language perceive as being present and capable of changing meaning, but which cannot be heard or physically produced. This idea is often discussed in the context of phonological theory, particularly when analyzing minimal pairs or explaining sound change.

The concept of a zerophoneme is controversial and not universally accepted among linguists. Critics argue that a sound that is not acoustically observable or physically producible cannot exist as a linguistic unit. They suggest that apparent instances of zerophonemes can often be explained by other phonological phenomena, such as allophonic variation, underlying representations, or historical sound changes. However, proponents suggest that zerophonemes can account for certain patterns and intuitions that are otherwise difficult to explain. For example, in some analyses, a zerophoneme might be posited to explain why a particular sound does not appear in certain positions or why a language appears to "skip" a sound that is present in related languages. The term itself highlights the paradoxical nature of a phoneme without a corresponding sound.