Phonetics

The physical properties of speech sounds such as how their are produced, their acoustic properties and neurophysiological status.

study of speech sounds
physical properties of speech sounds

knowledge

cross-sector

Phonetics is an essential knowledge of the following occupations:

Speech and language therapist: Speech and language therapists focus on the aetiology, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of communication and swallowing disorders in people of all ages in order to help them maintain, promote, improve, initiate, or recover the ability to communicate both verbally and nonverbally. They address the development of language, speech, vocal and hearing functions, and disorders and disabilities in the cranial, facial, and oral area.
Linguist: Linguists study languages scientifically. They master languages and can interpret them in terms of their grammatical, semantic, and phonetic characteristics. They research the evolution of language and the way it is used by societies.
Linguistics lecturer: Linguistics lecturers are subject professors, teachers, or lecturers who instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, linguistics, which is predominantly academic in nature. They work with their university research assistants and university teaching assistants
for the preparation of lectures and of exams, for grading papers and exams and for leading review and feedback sessions for the students. They also conduct academic research in their respective field of linguistics, publish their findings and liaise with other university colleagues.

Phonetics is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this knowledge may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Interpreter: Interpreters understand and convert spoken communication from one language to another. They retain considerable amounts of information, often with the aid of note-taking, and communicate it immediately after whilst keeping the nuances and stress of the message in the recipient language.
Interpretation agency manager: Interpretation agency managers oversee operations in the delivery of interpretation services. They coordinate the efforts of a team of interpreters who understand and convert spoken communication from one language to another. They ensure the quality of the service and the administration of the interpretation agency.
Literary scholar: Literary scholars research works of literature, history of literature, genres, and literary criticism in order to appraise the works and the surrounding aspects in an appropriate context and to produce research results on specific topics in the field of literature.

References

1. Phonetics – ESCO