Phonetic

Definition

Phonetic describes anything relating to the sounds of speech or the science of speech sounds; it can also denote a representation of speech sounds using a standardized set of symbols.

Parts of Speech

• Adjective
• Noun (in phrases such as “the phonetic” meaning phonetic transcription or representation)

Pronunciation

American English

• IPA: /fəˈnɛtɪk/
• Respelling: fuh-NET-ik

British English

• IPA: /fəˈnɛt.ɪk/
• Respelling: fuh-NET-ik

Etymology

Mid 19th century: from Greek phōnētikos “vocal,” from phōnē “sound, voice.”

Derivatives

• phonetics (noun)
• phonetician (noun)
• phonetically (adverb)
• nonphonetic (adjective)

Synonyms

• acoustic (adj.)
• articulatory (adj.)
• sound-based (adj.)

Antonyms

• orthographic
• nonphonetic

Usage

"Linguists use phonetic transcription to capture pronunciation nuances."

"She learned the phonetic alphabet to spell her name clearly over the phone."

Related Terms

• Phoneme: The smallest meaningful unit of sound in a language.
• IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet, a standardized system for phonetic transcription.
• Allophone: A variant of a phoneme.
• Articulatory phonetics: The study of how speech sounds are produced by the vocal organs.
• Acoustic phonetics: The study of the physical properties of speech sounds.

Detailed Definitions

Adjective

• Relating to the sounds of human speech – concerning the production, transmission, and perception of speech sounds.
  • Example: "The phonetic description distinguished subtle accent differences."
• Representing speech sounds with symbols – using a set of characters to denote each distinct sound.
  • Example: "The dictionary provides a phonetic spelling for each entry."
• Based on or according to phonetics – following the scientific principles of sound analysis.
  • Example: "Her transcription was highly phonetic, capturing every nuance."

Noun

• A phonetic transcription or representation – a sequence of symbols depicting speech sounds.
  • Example: "He referred to the phonetic to learn the correct pronunciation."
• The branch of linguistics dealing with speech sounds – the scientific study of how sounds are produced and perceived.
  • Example: "She specialized in the phonetic of endangered languages."

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