Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
23 results found in audio.
- 3D Audio (Three-Dimensional Audio, Binaural Audio, Immersive Audio)
- Audio technology that creates the perception of sound sources positioned in three-dimensional space around the listener, including above, below, and at varying distances. 3D audio uses head-related tr…
- Adaptive Multi-Rate Codec (AMR, AMR Codec, AMR-NB, AMR-WB)
- A family of audio codecs used in mobile telephony to encode voice for transmission. AMR-NB (narrowband) operates at 300-3,400 Hz with bit rates from 4.75-12.2 kbps, while AMR-WB (wideband, also called…
- AsTeR (Audio System for Technical Readings)
- An interactive computing system developed by T. V. Raman in his 1994 PhD thesis at Cornell University that converts LaTeX documents into navigable audio documents. AsTeR parses electronic documents in…
- Audio Formatting (Audio Rendering)
- The process of converting structured electronic documents into audio output that conveys not just textual content but also the logical structure and formatting of the original document. Audio formatti…
- Audio Game (Audiogame, Audio-Based Game, Accessible Game)
- A video game designed primarily or entirely around audio output rather than visual graphics, making it accessible to players who are blind or have visual impairments. Audio games use techniques such a…
- Audio Guide (Audio Tour, Audio Description Tour, Museum Audio Guide)
- A portable or installed audio system that provides spoken descriptions, narratives, or contextual information about exhibits in a museum, gallery, or cultural venue. Audio guides range from traditiona…
- Auditory Icon (Audio Icon)
- A non-speech sound used in a user interface that represents an object, action, or event by mimicking its real-world sound — for example, the sound of crumpling paper to indicate deleting a file, or a …
- Bone Conduction Headphones (Bone Conducting Headphones, Bonephones)
- Audio devices that transmit sound through the bones of the skull directly to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear. Unlike traditional headphones, bone conduction headphones leave the ear …
- Causal Listening
- A mode of listening, identified by composer and theorist Pierre Schaeffer, in which the listener focuses on identifying the source or cause of a sound — for example, hearing crumpling paper and recogn…
- Critical Listening (Analytical Listening, Active Listening)
- Critical listening is the skill of analytically evaluating audio content to identify specific qualities such as tonal balance, clarity, spatial positioning, dynamic range, and technical flaws like dis…
- Cymatics
- The study of visible patterns and shapes created when sound vibrations pass through physical media such as water, sand, or metal plates. Cymatic patterns are deterministic — the same frequency produce…
- Diegetic Sound (In-Game Sound, In-World Sound)
- Sound that originates from within the world of a game, film, or virtual environment—sounds that characters within that world could theoretically hear. In gaming and VR, diegetic sounds include environ…
- Diegetic Sound (In-World Sound, Source Sound)
- Sound that originates from a source within the narrative world of a game, film, or virtual reality environment — meaning the characters or inhabitants of that world could theoretically hear it. Exampl…
- Equalization (EQ, Audio Equalization, Adaptive Equalization)
- The process of adjusting the balance of frequency components in an audio signal by boosting or attenuating specific frequency bands. In accessibility contexts, adaptive equalization can be used to com…
- Mean Opinion Score (MOS, MOS Score)
- A standardized measure of perceived audio or video quality, rated on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (excellent). In telecommunications research, MOS is commonly used to assess speech quality as experienced…
- Movement Sonification (Motion Sonification)
- The practice of mapping qualities of physical movement - such as speed, direction, duration, or weight - to non-verbal sound cues so that movement can be perceived auditorily. In accessibility context…
- Narrowband Audio (NB Audio, Standard Definition Voice)
- Audio transmission limited to the frequency range of approximately 300-3,400 Hz, which has historically been the standard for telephone networks (PSTN). While sufficient for basic speech intelligibili…
- Semantic Listening
- A mode of listening, identified by composer and theorist Pierre Schaeffer, in which the listener focuses on decoding a coded audio signal to arrive at its intended message — for example, understanding…
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR, S/N Ratio)
- A measure of the strength of a desired signal relative to background noise, expressed in decibels (dB). In accessibility, signal-to-noise ratio is critical for the effectiveness of auditory interfaces…
- Sound Visualization (Audio Visualization, Sound-to-Visual Mapping)
- The practice of representing audio information through visual means, enabling Deaf or Hard-of-hearing individuals to perceive sound-based information that would otherwise be inaccessible. Sound visual…