phoneme

linguistics

phonology

is a characterized by difference. It exists in a system in which both signification and meaning are outside the phonemic structure.

phonemes are bits of meaningless and non-significant information. Phonemes and phonemic oppositions are the tools of analysis and articulation (whose basic characteristic is difference) in a system in which both signification and meaning are outside the phonemic structure. Mythemes' and oppositions' between mythemes, on the contrary, involve both signification and meaning: they have 'content'. (Wilden 1972a .pdf)

is a minimum unit of distinctive sound feature.

Bloomfield (1933: 79) subsequently defines phoneme as 'a minimum unit of distinctive sound feature,' and it is clearer that 'same' or 'alike' and 'distinctive' are terms of the theory and not of the laboratory procedure for recording data.

phoneme, n.All

phoneme