| 1. | the representation in graphic or pictorial form of characteristics of speech, as by means of sound spectrograms. |
| 2. | the system of handwritten phonetic symbols invented by Melville Bell in 1867 to provide a visually comprehensible rendition of speech sounds. |
| visible speech n. A system of phonetic notation used as an aid for teaching speech to hearing-impaired people and consisting of diagrams of the organs of speech in the various positions required to articulate sounds. |