Definition of: phonetics

(fə·net′iks) noun
1. The branch of linguistics which deals with the analysis, description, and classification of the sounds of speech, including articulatory phonetics, the study of the physiological processes involved in speech production, by means of which the sounds of a language are recorded and described, and acoustic phonetics, the study of the physical attributes of speech sounds by the use of laboratory instruments.
2. The system of sounds of a language: the phonetics of American English.