I see these trms used, but they often seem interchangable and I want to know if I'm missing some subtlety. Are there times when one word would be appropriate but not the others?
To make this easier on you, here are (American Heritage) dictionary definitions:
au·ral: Of, relating to, or perceived by the ear.
au·di·to·ry: Of or relating to hearing, the organs of hearing, or the sense of hearing.
a·cous·tic: Of or relating to sound, the sense of hearing, or the science of sound.
son·ic: Of or relating to audible sound.
In context: "aural style sheet", "acoustic control", "visual and auditory information", "sonic energy".
2006-07-29 19:25:19 · 5 answers · asked by Charles G 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Well, you have slightly answered your own question... essentially though you use:
aural - when the main focus of what you are talking about is the ear - e.g. congenital aural atresia is failure of the ear to form properly.
auditory - when it is hearing, e.g. the auditory nerve conducts hearing signals to the brain.
acoustic - when it is sound that is the focus
With acoustic vs sonic, acoustic is largely used when you are talking about the BEHAVIOUR or PROPERTIES of sound, whereas sonic is used when you are talking about the SOUND itself.
For example, The acoustics of the concert hall vs sonic boom.
However, as you say - all these words are actually used interchangeably. For example although aural is strictly to do with the ear, because of the ear's function we still talk about "aural comprehension" to mean understanding of what is heard, rather than understanding of ears! It doesn't work the other way though - auditory is never used to mean "of the ear".
2006-07-29 21:31:37 · answer #1 · answered by the last ninja 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
ACOUSTIC means relating to hearing or sound. Example : Acoustic contact had been made (of hearing). Wood has desired acoustic properties. ( of sound)
AUDITORY means relating to hearing or the organ of hearing. Example : The auditory range of birds is very limited. Snakes have a very poor auditory sense.
AURAL means relating to sense of hearing. Example - The opera was an aural as well as a visual delight. He has used written and aural material, backed by photographic evidence.
In some cases, ACOUSTIC and AUDITORY may be interchangeable when they relate strictly to 'hearing' only. But, you shouldn't, because AUDITORY is a technical term and used only in formal writing. You will find this word in scientific books and journals. AURAL has another meaning. It also means 'relating to a person's ability to understand. Example : The candidates were tested on aural comprehension.
2006-07-29 20:42:55 · answer #2 · answered by asok c 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Aural means of the ear. Auditory means hearing.
2006-07-29 22:38:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Auditorily
2016-10-02 03:56:25 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no difference.but it is different.
2006-07-29 19:56:49 · answer #5 · answered by K.Sudarsana Kumar K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋