Белорусский государственный

Functions of the phoneme
–
 
in speech a phoneme performs three functions: distinctive, 
constitutive and identificatory (recognitive); they are inseparable. 1) The phoneme performs the 
c o n s t it u t i v e function because in their material form they constitute morphemes, words, all of 
which are meaningful. 2) The phoneme performs the d i s t i n c t i v e function because phonemes 
distinguish one word from another. 3) On account of the fact that native speakers identify definite 
combinations of phonemes as meaningful linguistic units (words, word combinations, or phrases), 
linguists distinguish a third function of the phoneme – the i d e n t i f i c a t o r y (or r e c o g n it i v e ) 
function of the phoneme. 
Functions of prosody
– the prosody of the utterance performs a number of functions, the 
basic of which are constitutive, distinctive and identificatory. 1) The c o n s t it u t i v e function is to 
form utterances as communicative units. Prosody unifies words into utterances, thus giving the 
latter the final form without which they cannot exist. A succession of words arranged syntactically 
is not a communicative unit until a certain prosodic pattern is attached to it. 2) The d i s t i n c t i v e
function of prosody manifests itself in several particular functions, depending on the meaning which 
is differentiated. These are communicative-distinctive, modal-distinctive, culminative (“theme – 
rheme”) 
distinctive, 
syntactical-distinctive 
and 
stylistic-distinctive 
functions. 
3) 
The 
i d e n t i f i c a t o r y function of prosody is to provide a basis for the hearer’s identification of the 
communicative and modal type of an utterance, its semantic and syntactical structure with the 
situation of the discourse.
Functions of the syllable
– as a phonological unit the syllable performs several functions, 
that may be combined into the main three: constitutive, distinctive and identificatory: 1) The 
c o n s t it u t i v e function of the syllable manifests itself in the fact that the syllable forms higher-
level units – words, accentual or rhythmic groups, utterances. 2) The d i s t i n c t i v e function of the 
syllable is to differentiate words and word combinations. 3) The i d e n t i f i c a t o r y function of the 

---

52 
syllable is conditioned by the hearer’s perception of syllables as entire phonetic units with their 
concrete allophones and syllable boundaries.