What is phonetics?
Phonetics is the systematic study of human speech sounds. In the English language, each word is a combination of different sounds. Different sounds combine and form new words. For example, the word feel is a combination of three sounds.
In the English language, there are 26 alphabets that represent 44 sounds. These 44 sounds represent 44 symbols. It means there are some alphabets that represent more than one sound. for example, Alphabet “c” can have different sounds like center, cake, change, etc. These 44 symbols are borrowed from the Latin language. The systematic study of human speech sounds is known as phonetics.
We can categorize the 44 sounds into two groups of vowels and consonants. There are 24 consonants and 20 vowels in the language.
Vowels.
In the English language, there are 5 vowels that represent 20 vowel sounds. During the production of vowel sounds, there is no obstruction of air whenever it passes through the mouth. During the production of vowel sounds, there is a free flow of air through the mouth. Free flow of air is not possible with consonant sounds. Vowels can be classified into two monophthongs and diphthongs. Monothongs are a single sound, whereas diphthongs are the combination of two sounds. There are 12 monophthongs and 8 diphthongs.
Monothongs
Monothongs are single sounds. Monothongs is also known as pure vowels.
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are the combination of two sounds. Diphthongs are also known as impure vowels or vowel glides.
Consonants.
A consonant is a speech sound. When we produce consonant sounds there is no free flow of air through the mouth. In other words, a consonant sound is articulated with a complete or partial closure of the vocal tract.
Each word is a different combination of vowels and consonants.