Editing Phonetics (section)

== Subdisciplines ==
=== Acoustic phonetics ===
{{main|Acoustic phonetics}}
Acoustic phonetics deals with the [[Acoustics|acoustic]] properties of speech sounds. The [[Sensation (psychology)|sensation]] of sound is caused by pressure fluctuations which cause the [[eardrum]] to move. The ear transforms this movement into neural signals that the brain registers as sound. Acoustic waveforms are records that measure these pressure fluctuations.{{Sfn|Johnson|2003|p=1}}

=== Articulatory phonetics ===
{{main|Articulatory phonetics}}
Articulatory phonetics deals with the ways in which speech sounds are made.

=== Auditory phonetics ===
{{main|Auditory phonetics}}
Auditory phonetics studies how humans perceive speech sounds. Due to the anatomical features of the auditory system distorting the speech signal, humans do not experience speech sounds as perfect acoustic records. For example, the auditory impressions of [[Loudness|volume]], measured in decibels (dB), does not linearly match the difference in sound pressure.{{Sfn|Johnson|2003|p=46-49}}

The mismatch between acoustic analyses and what the listener hears is especially noticeable in speech sounds that have a lot of high-frequency energy, such as certain fricatives. To reconcile this mismatch, functional models of the auditory system have been developed.{{Sfn|Johnson|2003|p=53}}