phonetics

[ fuh-net-iks, foh- ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the science or study of speech sounds and their production, transmission, and reception, and their analysis, classification, and transcription. Compare acoustic phonetics, articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, physiological phonetics.
2. the phonetic system or the body of phonetic facts of a particular language.
3. the symbols used to represent the speech sounds of a language.

phonetics

/ fəˈnɛtɪks /

noun

1. functioning as singular the science concerned with the study of speech processes, including the production, perception, and analysis of speech sounds from both an acoustic and a physiological point of view. This science, though capable of being applied to language studies, technically excludes linguistic considerations Compare phonology

Word History and Origins

Origin of phonetics¹

First recorded in 1835–45; phonetic, -ics

Example Sentences

Sanchez was inspired to create MeowTalk after learning of Susanne Schötz—an associate professor of phonetics, studying cat-human communication at Sweden’s Lund University—and her book The Secret Language of Cats.

From Slate

It is the long school vacation in Nigeria and Elizabeth Stephens' regular students - the children of Abuja's rich and famous, who she teaches diction and phonetics at expensive private schools - are on holiday.

From BBC

But Judith Onwuzurike, a phonetics teacher in Abuja, says putting an effort into speak like the British is a sign of respect.

From BBC

Two Irish linguists — Elaine Vaughan, who teaches at the University of Limerick, and Kate Tallon, a Ph.D student who works in the Phonetics and Speech Laboratory at Trinity College Dublin — have since given Irish Alexa’s accent high marks.

From New York Times

Two Irish linguists — Elaine Vaughan, who teaches at the University of Limerick, and Kate Tallon, a Ph.D student who works in the Phonetics and Speech Laboratory at Trinity College Dublin — have since given Irish Alexa’s accent high marks.

From New York Times

Related Words

• accent
• diction
• utterance