What is phonetics in linguistics?

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies the sounds of human speech. It deals with the physical properties of speech sounds, such as their production (articulation), transmission, and reception (perception). Phonetics analyzes speech sounds in terms of their articulatory, acoustic, and auditory properties, without necessarily considering their linguistic function or meaning. It also examines the ways in which speech sounds are produced by the human vocal apparatus and how they are perceived by listeners.