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Glite Dictionary
phonetic symbol

phonetic symbol

6.1
A written sign that shows one speech sound
  • noun
  • /fəˈnɛtɪk ˈsɪmbəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : símbolo fonético
  • Students often use a phonetic symbol chart to learn how to pronounce new words correctly.

Examples

  • The teacher explained that each phonetic symbol corresponds to a specific sound in the language.

  • In Figure 1, the habitual F1 x F2 coordinates for /u/ and /?/ are indicated with open circles labeled with the appropriate phonetic symbol.

    Academic text (2012)

  • As a result, it is common to assume that standardized vowels should be used in all regions of the country where the phonetic symbols match the symbols used in the standard descriptions.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The results of the production study indicate that even when vowels are labeled with the same phonetic symbol (by convention), there can be large acoustic differences between one region's vowels and another's; moreover, there are vowel-specific effects such that some vowels are quite similar across studies and others vary widely.

    Academic text (2012)

  • The dictionary provides a phonetic symbol next to each word to indicate its pronunciation.

Synonyms

character
vsphonetic symbol
136 3.2

A written sign such as a letter or number

is more narrowly used to denote particular speech sounds in transcription
symbol
vsphonetic symbol
73 2.7

A mark, like a letter, that stands for something

is specifically used to record single speech sounds in transcription
graphic symbol
vsphonetic symbol
  • Specialized
5.9

A written sign that stands for a sound, word, or idea

is used specifically to denote single speech sounds in transcription
phonogram
vsphonetic symbol
  • Specialized
8.9

A sign that stands for a sound, syllable, or word

focuses more narrowly on single speech sounds in transcription
written symbol
vsphonetic symbol
4.2

A written mark, like a letter, that stands for a sound or idea

is used specifically to mark single speech sounds in transcription

Surface Forms

phonetic symbol singular
phonetic symbols plural

Morphology

phonetic + symbol

The meaning 'a written character used in phonetic transcription to represent a speech sound' is directly and compositionally derived from 'phonetic' (pertaining to speech sounds) + 'symbol' (a written mark). This noun-noun combination follows a regular English modification pattern and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Phonetic symbol comes from words that mean phonetic 'sound' and symbol 'sign', so imagine a small written sign that stands for one speech sound. That's why a phonetic symbol is a written character used to show how to pronounce a single sound.