Theory and practice

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-Emic and -etic: closed and open systems

I mentioned above the relevance of the dichotomy between closed and open systems using as an example the contrast between a paradigm and a list. It is a fundamental principle of grammatical analysis, describing a structural contrast first established within the linguistic domain, whence the terms -emic and -etic are borrowed.

A phon-emic system is a closed system of acceptable sound ranges in any given language: being closed, there is a limited number of acceptable items, which are seen, paradigmatically in function of their reciprocal contrast. Thuis in a given language ther may be a distinction between b and p, while in another they both constitute the same phoneme. Reciprocal understanding maong speakers depends on this system

A phone-tic¹ system, on the other hand, is an open system where any sound as uttered by a speaker can be defined acoustically or in some other way: the contrast with other sounds is not predetermined by a paradigm, but is fully open. Thus they may be many different renderings of either b or p, without that affecting the apeakers’ ability to understand each other. The differences, if noted, would be considered as a matter of “accent.”

For an example in the UGR system, see below under folders

For more details see Buccellati 2006; Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 2025 pp. xxx<; and especially Buccellati 2017 3.4.1).

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The “canonical” dimension

A grammatical system is closed in the specific sense that has just been defined. An important corollary is that a closed or -emic system is the one on which a program can ideally operate.

I use the term “canonical” to refer to a set of data that are grammatically organized and can thus be properly accessed by a specifically designed program. For an example see below under folders.

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Notes