ABSTRACT
Language is made up of sounds. The pronunciation of a given language is the way in which the sounds of this language are made. Phonetics is the science which deals with the formation of sounds by the organs of speech; with their combination into syllables, words and sentences; and with the rhythmical modulation of words and sentences by means of word-stress, sentence-stress and intonation. A speech sound is not a constant quality, but is subject to variations. Not only is the same sound pronounced differently by different people, but it is modified by proximity to other sounds. The auditory sounds of the spoken or 'articulate' language are represented to the eye by visual signs or symbols in the corresponding written or printed language. For the exact notation of pronunciation an exact phonetic alphabet, with signs for length and accentuation and even for sentence stress, is obviously required.
