adjective
phonetic
fuh-NET-ik/fəˈnetɪk/
Relating to speech sounds or how they are represented in writing.
The panel pairs a speech posture with a phonetic symbol.
Etymology
The base means “utterable,” tying the word specifically to spoken sound. In English, phonetic first described the representation of vocal sounds, then also came to describe speech sounds themselves.
In context
Certain hieroglyphics are phonetic and just represent sounds.
More examples
- A phonetic spelling showed how the name sounded.
- Students practiced reading phonetic symbols.
- The study examined phonetic differences between the two accents.
Forms
phonetic
phonetics noun — the study of speech sounds
Similar words
- phonological
- Phonological concerns a language's sound system; phonetic concerns the sounds themselves and their representation.
- orthographic
- Orthographic concerns conventional spelling; phonetic representation follows sound.