phonetics

[ fuh-net-iks, foh- ]

See synonyms for phonetics on Thesaurus.com

noun(used with a singular verb)

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.
the phonetic system or the body of phonetic facts of a particular language.

the symbols used to represent the speech sounds of a language.

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Origin of phonetics

First recorded in 1835–45; see origin at phonetic, -ics

Words Nearby phonetics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use phonetics in a sentence

It was a small step in learning to stick to my guns, but a leap in my comprehension of phonetics.
‘Sesame Street’ Is Middle-Aged and Awesome | Emily Shire | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Almost all French speakers have to do a serious amount of self-study to become conversant, especially when it comes to phonetics.
Why Can’t France Learn English? | David Sessions | March 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
My endeavour has been to put things very simply, and to make the beginner in phonetics hear for himself.
The Sounds of Spoken English | Walter Rippmann
Modern writers in their zeal for phonetics seem to have lost their sense of proportion.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind | Herbert George Wells
Their influence reaches far beyond the proper sphere of phonetics and invades that of morphology, as we shall see.
Language | Edward Sapir

In phonetics, as in vocabulary, we must be careful not to exaggerate the importance of interlinguistic influences.
Language | Edward Sapir
She isn't sorry to tally the pet (whose phonetics we employ) "dest wunced round the p on her soulders, only zis wunced."
Somehow Good | William de Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for phonetics

phonetics

/ (fəˈnɛtɪks) /

noun

(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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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