Complementary distribution

Complementary distribution in linguistics refers to the relationship between two elements where one element can be found only in a particular environment and the other element can be found only in the opposite environment. It often indicates that two superficially different elements are in fact the same at a deeper level.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Complementary distribution is commonly applied to phonology, where similar phones in complementary distribution are usually allophones of each other. For instance, in English, {{IPA|}} and {{IPA|}} are allophones of the phoneme {{IPA|/p/}} because they occur in complementary distribution. {{IPA|}} always occurs when it is the syllable onset and followed by a stressed vowel (as in the word pin). {{IPA|}} occurs in all other situations (as in the word spin).

Related Topics:
Phonology - Phone - Allophone - Phoneme - Syllable onset - Stress - Vowel

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There are cases where elements are in complementary distribution, but are not considered allophones. For example in English and {{IPA|}} (engma, written as "ng" in English) are in complementary distribution, since only occurs at the beginning of a syllable and {{IPA|}} only at the end. But because they have so little in common they are still considered separate phonemes.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~