Here's how it breaks down:
* Phonetics is the study of speech sounds.
* Phonetic refers to the sounds of speech.
* The word "phonetics" itself is made up of sounds that are pronounced as they are spelled.
For example:
* "ph" is pronounced as /f/, just like in the word "phone".
* "on" is pronounced as /ɒn/, just like in the word "on".
* "et" is pronounced as /ɛt/, just like in the word "set".
* "ics" is pronounced as /ɪks/, just like in the word "fix".
Therefore, the spelling of "phonetics" directly reflects its pronunciation, making it a phonetic word.