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Phonetics
is the branch of linguistics devoted to the study of speech sounds.
Phonetics attempts to classify and describe sounds of speech used in all
natural languages.
The study may include
how speaker produces speech sounds (physiological or articulatory
phonetics), how speech sounds are transmitted from the speaker to the
listener (acoustic phonetics), how a listener perceives speech sounds
(perceptual or auditory phonetics) and how speech sounds function in
languages to convey meaning (linguistic phonetics or phonology).
Phoneticians also
develop and refine methods and procedures for investigating the
articulatory, acoustic, perceptual and linguistic dimensions of speech
sounds. One simple, time-honoured, and yet important method for the study
of speech sounds is to accurately transcribe speech in writing.
Phoneticians have developed an alphabet for this purpose for the
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
In addition to the
theoretical importance of phonetic knowledge for linguistics and
psychology, practical applications of phonetics include those in the areas
of speech-language pathology, audiology, second language learning and
teaching, reading, and telecommunication.
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