I.

Acoustic Phonetics
 Definition: Acoustic phonetics is one of the primary branches of phonetics that
focuses on the physical properties of speech sounds and their transmission through the
air as sound waves.
 Key Aspects:
1. Sound Waves: Acoustic phonetics analyzes speech sounds as waveforms,
examining properties like frequency, amplitude, and duration.
2. Spectrograms: Researchers use spectrograms to visualize and analyze the
acoustic characteristics of speech sounds over time.
3. Formants: Formants are specific frequency bands in the acoustic signal that
correspond to particular vowel sounds, aiding in their classification.
4. Pitch and Intonation: It investigates how changes in pitch and intonation
patterns contribute to the meaning and prosody of speech.
 Applications: Acoustic phonetics plays a vital role in fields like speech recognition
technology, forensic linguistics, and language documentation.
II. Auditory Phonetics
 Definition: Auditory phonetics explores the perception and processing of speech
sounds by the human auditory system.
 Key Aspects:
1. Auditory Perception: Study of how the human ear processes sound waves
and distinguishes between different phonemes and speech sounds.
2. Categorical Perception: How individuals categorize speech sounds into
distinct phonemic categories.
3. Speech Perception Experiments: Researchers conduct experiments to
examine how people perceive speech under various conditions and contexts.
 Applications: Understanding auditory phonetics aids in fields like speech therapy,
hearing science, and the development of speech recognition and synthesis systems.
III. Articulatory Phonetics
 Definition: Articulatory phonetics investigates the physical production of speech
sounds by studying the movements and configurations of the speech organs.
 Key Aspects:
1. Vocal Tract Anatomy: Detailed examination of the vocal tract's components,
including the lips, tongue, teeth, palate, and vocal cords, and their role in
sound production.
2. Speech Articulation: Analysis of the precise articulatory movements required
for the production of consonants and vowels.
 3. Speech Synthesis: The use of technology to simulate and synthesize speech,
providing insights into the mechanics of speech production.
 Applications: Articulatory phonetics contributes to fields such as speech therapy,
accent modification, and the development of assistive communication devices.