What do phonetics and phonology study?

Phonetics and phonology focus specifically on the sounds produced during communication, making the selected answer extremely relevant. Phonetics examines the physical properties of sounds, including how they are articulated, transmitted, and perceived. It looks at the actual sounds of human speech—how we produce these sounds and how they can be classified based on their articulatory and acoustic properties.

Phonology, on the other hand, delves into how those sounds function within a particular language or languages. It studies the abstract, cognitive aspects of sounds, such as how they are organized in the mind and how they interact and patterns they form.

In contrast, other choices explore different aspects of language. The written representation of language pertains to orthography and literacy rather than the spoken elements. The meaning of words and phrases relates to semantics, which is not focused on the sounds themselves. The rules that govern word formation align with morphology, which deals with the structure of words rather than their phonetic characteristics. Thus, the focus on sounds defines why the correct choice is centered on phonetics and phonology’s study of sound in communication.