ABSTRACT
The notion of unit-length segment is one of the fundamental notions of the structuralistic theory of phoneme. As a rule, the unit-length segments are obtained by linking together into one whole several elementary segments following one another. Which segments are to be linked together is settled by certain general principles and depends upon the properties of the language considered. It is clear that in our system the role of language is assumed by the idiolect. Therefore the notion of the unit-length segment is of a relative character. It makes no sense to speak about unit-length segments simply, but only about the unit-length segments of a given idiolect. In this respect there exists an essential difference between the notion of the unit-length segment and that of elementary segment: the first is relative while the second is absolute.
