Phonetics is described as focusing on which aspect?

• A. How sounds are produced and perceived
• B. How words are formed from morphemes
• C. The meaning of sentences
• D. The rules governing sentence order

Answer: (B)

Phonetics deals with the physical reality of speech—the actual sounds themselves, how they’re produced by the vocal tract (articulatory aspects) and how listeners hear and perceive them (perceptual or acoustic aspects). It covers how different sounds are formed, their acoustic properties, and how we categorize and recognize them. This is different from forming words from meaningful units (morphology), the meanings of words and sentences (semantics), or the rules that govern sentence structure (syntax).