Glossary

What does binaural mean? Definition and examples

At its simplest, as a combination of the Latin bini (“twofold” or “two apiece”) and aural (“pertaining to both ears”),

What is bioacoustics? Definition and examples

The study of animals’ (including humans’) production, transmission, and reception of sounds, bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science combining biology and

What is transonic? Definition and examples

Transonic

Transonic (also ‘transsonic’) relates to travel at speeds just below the speed of sound in air (typically between 768 mph

What is sonic biomimicry? Definition and examples

Sonic biomimicry

Biomimicry is a design technique which draws on strategies found in nature and uses them to solve design challenges in

What is ecoacoustics? Definition and examples

Ecoacoustics

Also known as acoustic ecology or soundscape studies, the emerging interdisciplinary science of ecoacoustics studies biophonic, geophonic, and anthropophonic sounds

What is noise pollution? Definition and examples

Noise pollution

Human-made sound – anthropophony – comprises both ‘controlled’ sounds (such as vocalizations, speech, and music) and uncontrolled sounds (such as

What is acoustic aposematism? Definition and examples

Acoustic aposematism

what acoustic aposematism means: In the natural world, aposematism refers to traits which have developed evolutionarily in organisms to prevent

What is ecofluency? Definition and examples

Ecofluency

what ecofluency means: defined by Dr Saskia von Diest in 2019 as “the ability to fluidly […] converse with more-than-human

What is biophilia? Definition and examples

Biophilia

what biophilia means: a concept originated by social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, and philosopher Erich Fromm to describe a psychological attraction

What is spectrogram? Definition and examples

Spectrogram

what spectrogram means: a spectrogram visually represents the frequency and amplitude (the distance between the top and the bottom of a

What is echolocation? Definition and examples

Echolocation

what echolocation means: a biological form of sonar, this process uses sound waves reflected back to the emitter (ie, echoes) to

What is soundscape? Definition and examples

Soundscape

what soundscape means: the sonic environment of any particular environment, made up of the array of noises audible there. Soundscapes

What is geophony? Definition and examples

Geophony

what geophony means: non-biological ambient sounds generated by the natural world – for example, the sounds of wind, rain, thunder,

What is biophony? Definition and examples

Biophony

what does biophony mean? the sounds generated by non-human organisms in a specific biome. This term is derived from ‘the

What is anthropophony? Definition and examples

Anthropophony

what anthropophony (sometimes alternatively ‘anthrophony’) means: the sounds generated directly by humans, or by our technology. The term was originated