phonetics
English meaning: Phonetics
English Definition
(English)Phonetics maps the full inventory of human speech sounds across all languages, without regard to meaning. It differs from phonology, which studies how sounds function within a specific language system. Articulatory phonetics describes how the lips, tongue, teeth, and vocal cords produce sounds. Applied phonetics underpins speech therapy, language teaching, forensic speaker identification, and text-to-speech technology.
English Definition
The branch of linguistics that studies the physical sounds of human speech — how they are produced (articulatory phonetics), transmitted (acoustic phonetics), and perceived (auditory phonetics). The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides a standardised notation system.
Example
“The IPA symbol /θ/ represents the voiceless dental fricative — the 'th' sound in 'think' — helping linguists and language learners precisely identify sounds across languages.”
In English: “The IPA provides a universal notation system for precisely describing speech sounds across all human languages.”
Synonyms
- sound science
- speech science
Antonyms / Opposites
- phonology
- semantics
Literary Heritage
“You taught me language, and my profit on't is I know how to curse.”
“You taught me language, and my profit on't is I know how to curse.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B