How does phonetics differ from phonology? Use the [t] sounds in the two English words stop and top as an example for further illustration.

Phonetics studies all the speech sounds used in all human languages and some properties used for distinguishing and categorizing the sounds.

  Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.

  Phonetics is concrete ; phonology is abstract.