Allophones

In phonetics, an allophone is ane amang mony seemilar phones that's ocht the same phoneme. A phone is a soond that's soond swaw haes a definite shape, altho a phoneme is a basic group o soonds that disteenguishes wirds (i.e. chynging ae phoneme in ae wird brings forrit anither wird); speakers o a parteecular leid perceives a phoneme as a single kenspeckle soond in that leid. Fae this, an allophone is a phone thocht on as a member o the ae phoneme.

Ilka allophone is uised in a speceefic phonetic context. No aw phonemes haes signeeficantly differin allophones, but thare's aye a wee differ in soondin fae the ae bit speak tae the neist. An examplar is in Japanese that haes nae disteenction atween /l/ an /r/, an sae thir twa soonds gets guddelt by Japanese speakers acause thir soonds isna thocht on as sindry phonemes. Hooivver, in Scots thir twa soonds is thocht on as twa sindry anes, sae thay're baith thocht on as sindry phonemes. In some byleids o Inglis, "daurk" or velarised l is conseedert juist a kin o /l/, but in some ither leids, thir twa soonds differs.