acoustic phonetics

The branch of PHONETICS which studies the physical properties of speech sound, as transmitted between mouth and ear, according to the principles of acoustics (the branch of physics devoted to the study of sound). It is wholly dependent on the use of instrumental techniques of investigation, particularly electronics, and some grounding in physics and mathematics is a prerequisite for advanced study of this subject. Its importance to the phonetician is that acoustic analysis can provide a clear, objective datum for investigation of speech – the physical ‘facts’ of utterance. In this way, acoustic evidence is often referred to when one wants to support an analysis being made in ARTICULATORY or AUDITORY PHONETIC terms. On the other hand, it is important not to become too reliant on acoustic analyses, which are subject to mechanical limitations (e.g. the need to calibrate measuring devices accurately), and which are often themselves open to multiple interpretations. Sometimes, indeed, acoustic and auditory analyses of a sound conflict – for example, in INTONATION studies, one may hear a speech melody as RISING, whereas the acoustic facts show the FUNDAMENTAL frequency of the sound to be steady. In such cases, it is for phoneticians to decide which evidence they will pay more attention to; there has been a longstanding debate concerning the respective merits of physical (i.e. acoustic) as opposed to psychological (i.e. auditory) solutions to such problems, and how apparent conflicts of this kind can be resolved.