Текст № 1. Phonetics (originated from a Greek word meaning “sound, voice”) is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech

Phonetics (originated from a Greek word meaning “sound, voice”) is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs (phones): their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status. Phonology, on the other hand, is concerned with the abstract, grammatical characterization of systems of sounds or signs.

The field of phonetics is a multiple layered subject of linguistics that focuses on speech. In the case of oral languages there are three basic areas of study:

• Articulatory phonetics: the study of the production of speech sounds by the articulatory and vocal tract by the speaker

• Acoustic phonetics: the study of the physical transmission of speech sounds from the speaker to the listener

• Auditory Phonetics: the study of the reception and perception of speech sounds by the listener

These areas are inter-connected through the common mechanism of sound, such as wavelength (pitch), amplitude, and harmonics.

Phonetics was studied as early as 500 BC in ancient India, with Paṇini's account of the place and manner of articulation of consonants in his 5th century BC treatise on Sanskrit. The major Indic alphabets today order their consonants according to Paṇini's classification. In Ancient Greece people are credited to be the first to base a writing system on a phonetic alphabet. Modern phonetics began with Alexander Melville Bell, whose “Visible Speech” (1867) introduced a system of precise notation for writing down speech sounds.