Final answer:
Contrastive sounds, also known as minimal pairs, are pairs of words that differ by only one sound, and that sound change affects the meaning of the word.
Step-by-step explanation:
In linguistics, contrastive sounds, also known as minimal pairs, are pairs of words that differ by only one sound, and that sound change affects the meaning of the word. By comparing these words, we can identify and analyze the differences in the pronunciation of specific sounds.
For example, consider the words 'bat' and 'pat'. The only difference between these two words is the initial consonant sound. 'Bat' starts with the /b/ sound while 'pat' starts with the /p/ sound. This difference in sound changes the meaning of the word.
Contrastive sounds play a crucial role in understanding pronunciation rules and patterns in a language.