PHONETICS is the science of the pronunciation of languages. It is concerned with the mechanism by which speech-sounds are formed, the manner of combining sounds so as to make syllables, words and sentences, the treatment of speech-sounds in different languages as regards their "attributes" (length, stress and voice pitch), the timbre (acoustic quality) of speech-sounds and groups of speech-sounds, the methods of representing speech-sounds by means of writing (including transcripts for language learners, spelling reform and the writing of languages hitherto unwritten).
Phonetics has two main practical objects: (I) to help learners of foreign languages to hear accurately and to pronounce ac curately, and (2) to enable those who are concerned with the spelling or writing down of languages to devise the simplest and most practical system for each language.
Phonetic Analysis.—In order to effect either of these prac tical objects it is necessary that a "phonetic analysis" should be made of the language under consideration. The nature and mode of formation of every speech-sound of the language must be ascertained with the greatest possible accuracy; long passages of the language must then be transcribed phonetically by means of a minutely accurate system, with the object of finding out how the sounds may be grouped into "phonemes" (see p. 774). The usage of the particular language as regards the length of sounds, the stress (force-accent) of syllables and the intonation (pitch, musical accent) of words and sentences must be examined in detail. To obtain the best results, the investigations must be made by the "acoustic" method; the results may be corroborated by "experimental" methods.
Analysis by the "acoustic" method can only be carried out by an observer who is a trained phonetician, i.e., a person whose ear has been trained to distinguish and recognize minute shades of sound and who has arrived at a high degree of precision in the control over the movements of his tongue and other parts of the speech-organs—who can in fact already pronounce a large number of difficult foreign sounds and sound-combinations. He must have as a collaborator a native speaker of the language to be analysed—if possible, one with natural linguistic ability. The
process of investigation is as follows. The observer gets the native to repeat words and phrases of his language a very large number of times. He may find these words and phrases to be composed of sounds already known to him. If so (and if the language does not present special difficulties in the matter of length, stress or intonation), he will at once be able to repeat them to the native's satisfaction. If the native is not satisfied, it means that the word or phrase contains one or more unfamiliar sounds, or that the language contains some unusual features of length, stress or intonation. To acquire the correct pronunciation, the observer uses his power of making fine adjustments in the positions and movements of his own speech organs. He tries one variation, and then another, until he succeeds in pronouncing the word or phrase to the native's satisfaction. He then knows by his own muscular and tactile sensations what is the exact manner of formation of the unfamiliar sounds of the language. The investigator must make his native collaborator understand that nothing short of pronunciation indistinguishable from that of a native is to be accepted. When necessary, he must test his native collaborator's ear by making intentional mispronunciations. The best results are of course obtained when the observer can train the native himself in methods of phonetic research.