Phonetics can be defined as the science which studies the characteristics of
human speech and provides methods for their description, classification, and
transcription (Crystal, 2003, p. 349). Of course, a detailed description of the
production of speech is immensely complex: speech involves, for example, the
coordination of over eighty different muscles (Laver, 1994, p. 1); furthermore,
a comprehensive understanding of phonetics involves a wide range of different
disciplines (Laver, 1994, p. 2). Indeed, scientific research on phonetics can
involve many different techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)