Glossary: morphology and phonology

A common format for storing sounds as computer files.

A display of the amplitude (=loudness) of sound during time.

The form in which a word is pronounced when it is unstressed. This term is usually applied only to words that normally occur unstressed, such as English to, a. Cf. strong form.

See lenition.

A property of syllables, which may be divided into light and heavy syllables: heavy syllables typically have a long vowel or diphthong, or sometimes a short vowel plus consonant (see also mora).

The smallest free form found in a language.

See derivation.

Measure of how often a word occurs in a particular corpus. See also token frequency, type frequency.

The process by which words are selected to be spoken or written.

The association by speakers of a language of the speech or writing signal with the entries in their mental lexicon.