Which statement about high neighborhood density is true?

Which statement about high neighborhood density is true?

• A. Words with many neighbors that differ by one phoneme
• B. Words with rare phoneme sequences
• C. Words used most often in language
• D. Words that are easy to pronounce

Answer: (A)

Neighborhood density is about how many real words sit one phoneme away from a given word, keeping the same length. When a word has many such one-phoneme neighbors, it has high neighborhood density. The statement that there are many neighbors that differ by one phoneme best captures this idea because it directly describes having a large set of close phonological competitors. This isn’t about rare vowel or consonant sequences, how often the word is used, or how easy it is to pronounce. For example, a word like “cat” has several one-phoneme neighbors—bat, hat, mat, cap, and so on—illustrating how a high density manifests as many close neighbors.

Neighborhood density is about how many real words sit one phoneme away from a given word, keeping the same length. When a word has many such one-phoneme neighbors, it has high neighborhood density. The statement that there are many neighbors that differ by one phoneme best captures this idea because it directly describes having a large set of close phonological competitors. This isn’t about rare vowel or consonant sequences, how often the word is used, or how easy it is to pronounce. For example, a word like “cat” has several one-phoneme neighbors—bat, hat, mat, cap, and so on—illustrating how a high density manifests as many close neighbors.