Fonetikë

Fonetikë refers to the study of the production, transmission, and perception of speech sounds in human languages. It is a branch of linguistics that examines the physical aspects of sound, including how sounds are articulated by the vocal apparatus, how they travel through the air, and how they are interpreted by the listener. The term originates from the Greek words *phōnē* (sound) and *tikē* (art), combining to mean "sound production."

Fonetikë is distinct from phonology, which deals with the abstract sound systems of languages and their role in meaning. While phonology focuses on the functional and structural aspects of sounds within a language, fonetikë is concerned with the concrete, physical properties of speech sounds. This includes the study of articulatory phonetics, which investigates how speakers produce sounds using organs such as the lips, tongue, and vocal cords, as well as acoustic phonetics, which analyzes the physical properties of sound waves.

Research in fonetikë often involves experimental methods, such as spectrography, electropalatography, and electromyography, to measure and analyze speech production and perception. These techniques help linguists understand how variations in sound production—such as differences in accent, dialect, or speech disorders—occur. Fonetikë also plays a role in fields like speech therapy, computer speech recognition, and the design of hearing aids, where an understanding of sound production and perception is essential.

The field is further divided into subcategories, including auditory phonetics, which studies how listeners perceive sounds, and perceptual phonetics, which explores the psychological and cognitive processes involved in recognizing speech. By bridging the gap between biology, physics, and psychology, fonetikë provides insights into both the universal and language-specific aspects of human communication.