What term refers to the description of the allowed combinations of phonemes in a language?

• A. Monophthong
• B. Phonotactics
• C. Schwa
• D. Prosody

Answer: (B)

How a language restricts which sound sequences are allowed. The best term for describing those rules is phonotactics. Phonotactics covers the permissible arrangements of phonemes within syllables and across syllable boundaries—what consonant clusters can start or end a syllable, which vowels may follow certain consonants, and how sounds combine in real words. This varies by language, which is why different languages have different allowable sequences.

For contrast, a monophthong is just a single, steady vowel sound; schwa is a specific mid-central vowel sound; prosody refers to rhythm, stress, and intonation. These describe other aspects of sound and speech, not the rules about which phoneme combinations are allowed.