äänteellismerkityksellisestä

"Äänteellismerkityksellisestä" is a Finnish term that translates to "phonemically significant" or "phonemically distinctive" in English. It refers to a sound difference in a language that has the potential to change the meaning of a word. In linguistics, phonemes are the smallest units of sound that can distinguish one word from another. When a minimal pair of words exists, differing only by a single sound, and those words have different meanings, that sound is considered phonemically significant.

For example, in Finnish, the difference between the short vowel /i/ and the long vowel /i:/ is phonemically significant. The words "tuli" (fire) and "tuuli" (wind) differ only in the length of the vowel, and this difference changes the meaning. Therefore, the distinction between short and long vowels in this context is phonemically significant. Linguists use this concept to identify and analyze the phonemic inventory of a language, which is the set of distinct sound units that are used to create meaning. Recognizing phonemically significant sounds is crucial for understanding the sound system and pronunciation of any language.