visible speech
Definition
- Noun:
- A system for representing speech sounds visually: "visible speech" refers to a method of displaying the acoustic characteristics of spoken language in a visual format, such as a spectrogram that shows frequency, intensity, and time.
- A historical phonetic alphabet: "visible speech" also specifically denotes a written phonetic alphabet invented by Alexander Melville Bell in the 19th century, designed to represent the positions of the speech organs for each sound.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The linguist used visible speech to analyze the vowel formants in the recording. (The linguist used a spectrographic representation to analyze the vowel formants.)
- Melville Bell's system of visible speech was a precursor to modern phonetic notation. (Melville Bell's phonetic alphabet was a forerunner to contemporary systems.)
Advanced Usage
- As a tool in speech science and pathology: "Visible speech" spectrograms are used to study, diagnose, and treat speech disorders by making the acoustic properties of speech observable.
- The speech therapist reviewed the visible speech patterns to assess the client's articulation.
Variants and Related Words
- Spectrogram (n): A visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies in a sound as they vary with time.
- The spectrogram provided a detailed visible speech analysis.
- Phonetic alphabet (n): A set of symbols used to represent the sounds of speech.
- The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a more widely used system than Bell's original visible speech.
Synonyms
- Speech spectrography: The technique or result of converting speech sounds into a visual spectrogram.
- Phonetic notation: A system of written symbols that represent speech sounds.
Related Phrases
- Visual representation of speech: A general phrase for any method that renders spoken language in a visual form, including waveforms and spectrograms.
Noun
-
spectrogram of speech; speech displayed spectrographically
-
a phonetic alphabet invented by Melville Bell in the 19th century
