Final answer:
Phonology is the study of the significant sound contrasts of a given language, which includes the analysis of phonemes. These sound patterns can be influenced by environmental, historical, and sociocultural factors, illustrating the concept of linguistic relativity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The study of the significant sound contrasts of a given language is known as phonology. Phonology is concerned with the abstract system of sounds in a language, including how they are organized and how they interact with each other. A key aspect of phonology is the analysis of phonemes, which are the basic distinctive units of sound in a language that serve to distinguish meaning.
For example, in the English language, the words 'pat' and 'bat' differ in meaning due to the contrast between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ at the beginning of each word. This contrast is significant in English but may not be in other languages where these sounds are not used distinctly to change meaning. The phonological system of a language often reflects various environmental, historical, and sociocultural factors.
Research in linguistic anthropology suggests that features such as ejective sounds can be more common in languages developed at high altitudes. This reflects a broader understanding in linguistics that the environment can influence the sound structure of a language, which relates to the principle of linguistic relativity. These insights underline the intricate relationship between language, culture, and the physical environment.