Is a phoneme the smallest sound in spoken language?

That's a great question! It's close, but not quite right.

Here's the breakdown:

* Phoneme: A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning in a language. It's like a building block of sound. For example, the phonemes /p/ and /b/ differentiate the words "pat" and "bat."

* Smallest Sound: The smallest sound in spoken language is technically a phone. Phones are the actual sounds we produce, and they can vary slightly in different contexts. For example, the /p/ in "pin" and "spin" might sound slightly different.

Think of it like this:

* Phoneme: The *concept* of a sound that carries meaning (like the *idea* of the sound /p/).

* Phone: The *actual* sound we make (like the specific /p/ sound in "pin").

So, while phonemes are the smallest units of sound that matter for meaning, they are not the *smallest* sound itself. That title belongs to the phone.