phon
fɑːn
A phone call and a symphony are the same spreading sound
The picture Sound going out from one point in widening rings until it reaches somebody's ear. Only the sound changes. phon is sound spreading outward; graph is a mark that stays put.
Where the picture shows up in phon
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Sound from far away
Your phone is ringing.
jʊr foʊn ɪz ˈrɪŋɪŋ
Your phone is ringing.
A distant person's voice leaking out of the machine in your hand.
tele(far) + phone(sound).
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A small sound made big
Speak into the microphone.
spiːk ˈɪntə ðə ˈmaɪkrəfoʊn
Speak into the microphone.
Sound going into a little hole in front of your lips and swelling out to fill the whole room.
micro means small — it takes in the small sound.
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Sound sealed to the ear
Put your headphones on.
pʊt jʊr ˈhedfoʊnz ɑːn
Put your headphones on.
Two cups clamped over the head so the sound never leaks out and pools in the ears instead.
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The sound attached to letters
She teaches phonics to the children.
ʃiː ˈtiːtʃɪz ˈfɑːnɪks tə ðə ˈtʃɪldrən
She teaches phonics to the children.
Tap one letter on the board and a single sound jumps out of it.
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Sounds sounding together
We have tickets to the symphony.
wiː hæv ˈtɪkɪts tə ðə ˈsɪmfəni
We have tickets to the symphony.
Dozens of instruments on stage stacking their sound into one mass that rolls out over the seats.
sym means together — sounds sounding together.
All of it in one picture
phon is one sound spreading outward. Sound arriving from far off is a telephone; a small sound made big is a microphone; sound sealed onto the ears is headphones. Teaching the sound attached to each letter is phonics, and many sounds swelling together is a symphony. So when phon appears, ask which sound is travelling where.