Phonetics is the scientific study of speech sounds. Phoneticians study how sounds are produced, how they are perceived, and how they are used in language. This includes the study of accents, which are variations in pronunciation that are characteristic of a particular region or social group.
Other related terms include:
* Dialectologist: A person who studies dialects, which are regional or social varieties of a language.
* Sociolinguist: A person who studies the relationship between language and society.
* Linguist: A person who studies language in general.