Foneticului

Foneticului, in Romanian typically referred to by the term fonetica, is the scientific study of the sounds of human language. It investigates how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived, focusing on their physical properties and perceptual qualities rather than their function within a language system.

The field is commonly divided into three interrelated subfields. Articulatory phonetics studies how the speech organs (lips, tongue, vocal cords, etc.) move to produce different sounds. Acoustic phonetics analyzes the physical properties of sound waves, such as frequency spectra, duration, and amplitude. Perceptual phonetics (or auditory phonetics) examines how listeners hear, distinguish, and identify speech sounds.

Foneticului is closely related to phonology, which concerns the abstract systems and patterns of sounds in languages, including phonemes and their interactions. Researchers in phonetics use a variety of methods and instruments, such as spectrogram analysis, palatography, electroglottography (EGG), ultrasound tongue imaging, and other imaging or measurement tools, as well as perceptual experiments involving listeners.

Applications of phonetics span many areas. In speech technology, phonetic knowledge underpins speech synthesis and recognition systems. Clinically, it informs speech-language pathology and the assessment of speech disorders. In education and language documentation, it aids pronunciation training and the recording of endangered languages. Forensic phonetics uses acoustic evidence in legal contexts.

Historically, modern phonetics developed from 19th- and 20th-century approaches to sound analysis and experimental methods, expanding with advances in acoustic technology. Today it remains a foundational discipline for understanding how language is produced, transmitted, and received.