phonetics
phonetics Lexical Profile
phonetics Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The branch of linguistics that deals with the physical production, acoustic transmission, and auditory perception of speech sounds.
"Students in the introductory linguistics course spent three weeks studying articulatory phonetics and learning the International Phonetic Alphabet."
The system of speech sounds and pronunciation properties characteristic of a particular language or dialect.
"Mastering the subtle phonetics of French nasal vowels often requires dedicated listening and pronunciation practice."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the academic discipline, 'phonetics' is treated as singular (e.g., 'Phonetics is a branch of linguistics'). Do not confuse it with 'phonology', which studies how speech sounds function systematically to create meaning within a specific language, or 'phonics', which is a method of teaching reading by correlating sounds with letters.
• Rhymes for phonetics
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-19th century from 'phonetic', which derives via New Latin 'phoneticus' from Ancient Greek 'phōnētikos' ('vocal'), ultimately from 'phōnē' ('sound, voice').