The fundamental difference between distinctive and significant units must ultimately account for one very important discrepancy in the syntactic comportment of phonemes and monemes: a phoneme fulfils a function in a definite position. If we want to identify a 'signifiant', e.g that of the word 'lake', it is not enough to say that it is made up of three phonemes /l/, /e'/, and /k/ because the same phonemes are those which characterize the words 'clay' and 'kale'; one must specify: /l/, /e'/, and /k/ in that order. In other words, when pronouncing 'lake', speakers have to choose, in initial position, /l/ and oppose any inclination to say /k/ for 'cake', /t/ for 'take', &c. Postponing /l/ till the end of the word and anticipating the choice of the /k/ would not do, because we would thus get 'kale' which is not what we mean. All this, which sounds trivial, is, in fact, basic for the establishment of the phonematic pattern of the language.
- Martinet (1962), a pag.40-41