MINIMAL PAIRS

A. Definition of Minimal Pairs

James McGilvray provides a clear definition of a minimal pair in The
Cambridge Companion to Chomsky: "A minimal pair is a pair of words that
differ in a single phoneme. Minimal pairs are often used to show that two sounds
contrast in a language. For example, we can demonstrate that [s] and [z] contrast
in English by adducing minimal pairs such as sip and zip, or bus and buzz. Since
the only difference in these words is the [s] vs. [z], we conclude that they belong
to distinct phonemes. In short, minimal pairs serve as tools to establish that two or
more sounds are contrastive. A difference in sound means a difference in
meaning, notes Harriet Joseph Ottenheimer, and thus a minimal pair is "the
clearest and easiest way to identify phonemes in a language," (Ottenheimer 2012).
In phonology, minimal pairs are pairs of words in a language that differ in
only one phonological unit such as a phoneme (spoken language) or a prime
(signed language). The words in a minimal pair have completely different and
often unrelated definitions. Minimal pairs are useful to linguists because they
provide insight into how sound and meaning coexist in language. They are used to
demonstrate that two phones constitute two separate phonemes in the language.
Some examples of the minimal pairs in English are: pin and bin, pat and pit, soul
and soup, and so on.
Other examples of minimal pairs:
 "Cheers and Jeers provides an opportunity to use music and humor to
relax and release tension," (Holcomb 2017).
 "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get
better. It's not," (Seuss 1971).
 "The US Coast Guard had 125-foot cutters and eight 765-foot-long patrol
boats. By the late 1920s, forty-five vessels operated out of this local base
with some parking at the pier, as can be seen in a postcard," (Deese 2006).
  "The role of the sympathetic nervous system is to prepare the body for
emergencies, commonly known as fright, flight and fight reactions,"
(Moonie 2000).
The minimal pair was an essential tool in the discovery process, arrived at
by substitution or commutation tests. Modern phonology is much less interested
in such issues, and the minimal pair is consequently considered to be of little
theoretical importance. The following table shows other pairs demonstrating the
existence of various distinct phonemes in English. All the possible minimal pairs
for any language may be set out in the same way.

Word 1 Word 2 IPA 1 IPA 2 note

pin bin / pɪn / /bɪn/
initial consonant
rot lot /rɒt/ /lɒt/
pen pan /pɛn/ /pæn/
vowel
bin bean /bɪn / /biːn/

pat pad / pæt / / pæd /

final consonant
hat had /hæt/ /hæd/

Minimal pairs are useful for establishing the phonemes of the language.
Thus, a phoneme can only perform its distinctive function if it is opposed to
another phoneme in the same position. Such an opposition is called phonological.
Let us consider the classification of phonological oppositions worked out by N.S.
Trubetzkoy. It is based on the number of distinctive articulatory features
underlying the opposition.
1. If the opposition is based on a single difference in the articulation of
two speech sounds, it is a single phonological opposition, e.g. [p]-[t],
as in [pen]-[ten]; bilabial vs. forelingual, all the other features are the
same.
2. If the sounds in distinctive opposition have two differences in their
articulation, the opposition is double one, or a sum of two single
oppositions, e.g. [p]-[d], as in [pen]-[den], 1) bilabial vs. forelingual
2) voiceless-fortis vs. voiced-lenis.
 3. If there are three articulatory differences, the opposition is triple one,
or a sum of three single oppositions, e.g. [p]- [ð], as in [pei]-[ ðei]: 1)
bilabial vs. forelingual, 2) occlusive vs. constrictive, 3) voiceless-
fortis vs. voiced-lenis.
With regard to both creating and understanding minimal pairs, context is
everything, as Mehmet Yavas explains. "The only way we can create a minimal
pair with reference to the two sounds involved is to put them in exactly the same
environment in terms of word position and the surrounding context. To clarify
further, the pair: budge–buzz focuses on the contrast between /dʒ/ and /z/ in final
position, while witch–wish contrasts /t∫/ and /ʃ/ in final position. It should be noted
that minimal pairs include forms that have different spellings, as evidenced
in jail–Yale," (Yavas 2011).

True minimal pairs aren't too common, but near minimal pairs are easy to
find. "Sometimes it is not possible to find perfect minimal pairs differentiated by
only a single sound for every phoneme. Sometimes it is necessary to settle
for near minimal pairs ... Pleasure and leather qualify as a near minimal pair,
since the sounds immediately adjacent to the target sounds, [ð] and [ʒ], are the
same in both words: [ɛ] before the target sound and [ɹ] after it. Like minimal pairs,
near minimal pairs are usually sufficient to demonstrate that two sounds are
separate phonemes in a language," (Gordon 2019).

B. The Rules of Minimal Pairs

1. The words must have the same number of sounds.

Both of those words have

the same number of
heat – hit /hi:t/ - /hɪt/ sounds /hi:t/ - /hɪt/ but
/hi:t/ has I with dots (:)
that means the pronounce
must be longer than /hɪt/

2. The words must be identical in every sound except for one.

Those words have only

so – go /səʊ/- /gəʊ/ one sound that is different
 3. The sounds that is different must be in the same position in each word.

cat – hat /kæt/- /hæt/ In the front

4. The word must have different meanings.

In order to decide whether a pair of words is a minimal pair or not, you
need to know what sounds make up the word, and you need to IGNORE the
word's spelling. If you are a native English speaker, you may find this easy. Most
people have to look up the words in a pronunciation dictionary. This can best be
shown with examples.

Spelling Pronunciation
cat - bat Yes, a minimal pair! /kæt/ - /bæt/ only k and b are different
wide - wise Yes, a minimal pair! /waɪd/ - /waɪz/ only d and z are different
only aɪ and əʊ are different.
Remember, these are two
ride - road Yes, a minimal pair! /raɪd/ - /rəʊd/ different diphthongs.
Diphthongs are single
phonemes, although they are
written with two symbols.
kite - night Yes, a minimal pair! /kaɪt/ - /naɪt/ only k and n are different
This is a minimal pair
because s and "nothing" are
take - steak Yes, a minimal pair! /teɪk/ - /steɪk/ different. This means than

minimal pairs can also be

made if one of the "sounds"
is actually zero!
The two words are the same
Maid - made No, not a minimal pair /meɪd/ - /meɪd/
exactly.
There are TWO differences
wise - rice No, not a minimal pair /waɪz/ - /raɪz/
in theses words
 There are TWO differences
in theses words (be very
base - phase No, not a minimal pair /beɪs/ - /feɪz/ careful to distinguish s and z

- you will need a dictionary

mort of the time!)
Yes, a minimal pair in Some Scottish and American
caught - cot kɔ:t - kɒt
RP, but no, not in accents will pronounce these
some other accents words the same.

Making minimal pairs is a method that can be used to work out whether
two different sounds in a certain language are allophones or phonemes. For
instance, we can see that /l/ and /r/ are different phonemes by making the minimal
pair:

l and r can distinguish between

lime - rhyme /laɪm/ - /raɪm/
words: they are distinctive for the
meaning of the word
But the two types of English /l/ - light and dark - cannot make a minimal
pair, because the phonological rules state that /ᶩ/ can only appear in the word
where /ᵼ/ cannot appear. In some languages they CAN make minimal pairs.
Sometimes we cannot make a minimal pair to show different phonemes,
simply becasue there are no words that fit. When this happens, we can usually
find MINIMAL CONTEXTS instead. Thus, you cannot find a minimal pair to
show that ʃ and ʒ are different phonemes. But we can find a minimal context like
this:
ʃ and ʒ are in different
fission - vision fɪʃən - vɪʒən
CONTEXTS although fission
and vision are not minimal pairs.