What is the Difference Between Morpheme and Phoneme?

The main difference between a morpheme and a phoneme lies in their function and meaning within a language.

• Morpheme: A morpheme is the smallest unit of a word that provides a specific meaning to a string of letters. Morphemes can be classified into two main types: free morphemes and bound morphemes. Free morphemes can exist on their own as individual words (e.g., "eat" or "water"), while bound morphemes cannot exist on their own and are used to change or modify the meaning of a word(e.g., -er, -ing).
• Phoneme: A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that may cause a change of meaning within a language but that doesn't have meaning by itself. Phonemes correspond to the sounds of the alphabet, although there is not always a one-to-one relationship between a letter and a phoneme. For example, the word "dog" has three phonemes: /d/, /o/, and /g/.

In summary:

• Morphemes are the basic units of meaning within words.
• Phonemes are the basic units of sound in a language.
• Morphemes provide meaning to a string of letters, while phonemes do not have meaning on their own.

Comparative Table: Morpheme vs Phoneme

Here is a table comparing morphemes and phonemes:

In summary, morphemes are the smallest meaningful units of a language, while phonemes are the smallest units of sound. Morphemes provide meaning to words, whereas phonemes are used to create different words and sounds.