语言所语音研究室有着60多年的历史，其前身是原北京大学文科研究所语音乐律实验室。1950年中国科学院语言研究所建所时，在语音乐律实验室的基础上，设立了语音实验小组。研究室的发展目前可以划分为三个主要阶段。

第一阶段（1950 — 1977）。当时的仪器主要有浪纹计、声调推断尺、音叉、渐变音高管以及钢丝录音机等。50年代后期，添置了声学分析仪器，如示波器和语图仪等，开始研究普通话元音和辅音的声学特性；设计制作了颚位照相装置，与X光照相配合，对元音和辅音进行生理分析；还设计了音高显示器，研究普通话的声调。这一阶段着重于研究普通话孤立语音的声学和生理特性，其成果主要体现为5卷本的《普通话语音实验录》（未出版）和《普通话发音图谱》（周殿福 吴宗济，商务印书馆，1963年） 。

第二阶段（1978 — 1998）。1978年，中国社会科学院语言研究所语音研究室正式成立。研究室在原来的基础上扩充了人员和设备，购置了新的语图仪，配备了计算机，对普通话的语音进行比较系统的动态特性分析，并开始进行基于生理和声学参数的语音规则合成研究。这一阶段的研究成果集中反映在《实验语音学概要》（吴宗济、林茂灿主编）、《现代汉语语音概要》（吴宗济主编）、《吴宗济语言学论文集》（吴宗济）、《面向声学语音学的普通话语音合成技术》（杨顺安）、《言语链》（曹剑芬、任宏模）、《现代语音研究与探索》（曹剑芬）等著作以及每年一期的《语音研究报告》和大量的期刊论文之中。

第三阶段（1999 — 2010）。1998年之后，随着计算机存储和计算能力的快速发展，以及各种语音声学分析软件（如xwave、Praat等）的日渐成熟，大规模语音语料库的建设和研究成为可能。在这一阶段，研究室建设完成了大量语音数据资源，研制出了适合汉语语音标注工作需要的C-ToBI和SAMPA-C等语音标记符号体系，并在此基础上开展了一系列面向语音技术应用的语言韵律节奏特性研究，内容涉及话语的韵律结构、语调、重音、语流音变、情感的韵律表达等方面。此外，研究室还逐步开展了基于EMA、EGG、EPG等发音生理数据的发音机理研究，并开始了儿童语言认知实验室的建设和研究工作。

这些年来，研究室承担和参与了大量课题研究工作，其中包括国家社会科学基金项目8项（其中3个重点项目）、国家自然科学基金项目4项、国家863高新技术项目4项、国家973高新技术项目1项、教育部985合作项目1项、院级课题6项（其中重大项目1项，重点项目2项），并先后与5个跨国研究中心（MOTOROLA，NOKIA，TOSHIBA，IBM，ATR）开展了横向合作研究，与中国科大讯飞公司成立了联合实验室。

2011年，中国社会科学院哲学社会科学创新工程启动，“语音与言语科学重点实验室”作为第一批试点单位签约成立。

铜匾「Copper Plaque」

语图仪「Sonographs」

声调推断尺「Tone inference scale」

X光照相「X-ray photograph」

The Phonetic Research Lab of Institue of Linguistics has more than 60 years history. Its predecessor was the Phonetic and Temperament Lab of Institue of Libral Arts of Peking University. In the year 1950, when the Institue of Linguistics of Chinese Academy of Science was established, based on the Phonetic and Temperament Lab, a phonetic research group emerged. The development of Phoentic Research Lab can be mainly divided into three stages.

First stage (1950 — 1977). During that period, our lab had phonetic equipments such as Kymograph, tone inference scales of “Yiyi” and “Yier”, tuning forks, pitch tube by degrees, and wire recorder. In late 50s, equipments like acoustic analyzer, oscillograph and sonagraph were added to our lab and the study of acoustic features of consonants and vowels of Standard Chinese began. In the meantime, the palatograph device was designed and made. Together with X-ray photography, systematic analysis and description of physiological features of consonants and vowels became possible. In addition, in order to study tones of Standard Chinese, pitchmeters were designed. In this stage, our lab focused on research of the acoustic and physiological features of isolated phonetic units. The five volumes of Experimental Study of Phonetics in Standard Chinese were finished, and the Phonation Diagram of Standard Chinese (ZHOU Dianfu, WU Zongji) was published.

Second stage (1978 — 1998). In the year of 1978, the Phonetic Lab of Institute of Linguistics of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was established. Our lab further expanded and supplemented both research people and equipments. We purchased new sonagraph instrument and computers, and performed systematic analysis on dynamic features of sounds. In the meantime, we also started to do physiological-based and acoustic-parameter-based speech synthesis research. Achievements were published in books such as The Outline of Experimental Phonetics (WU Zongji, LIN Maocan), Summary of Morden Chinese Speech (WU Zhongji), Linguistic research collection of WU Zongji (WU Zongji), Acoustic-Phonetic-Based Speech Synthesis Technology of Standard Chinese (YANG Shunan), Speech Chain (CAO Jianfen, REN Hongmo), Explore of Morden Phonetic Research (CAO Jianfen), and the annual Phonetic Research Report, and many journal papers.

Third stage (1999 — 2010). After 1998, with the rapid development of the storage and computing ability of computers, as well as the mature of phonetic analysis software (e.g. xwave, Praat), construction and research of large scale corpus became possible. At this stage, our lab built large amount of speech resources, developed phonetic annotating system, such as C-ToBI and SAMPA-C, that are suitable for phonetic annotation of Chinese Speech. Based on above efforts, we performed a series of language prosody rhyme research focusing on speech technology applications. In addition, our lab started to do research on physiological phonation pattern and phonation mechanism based on EMA, EGG and EPG. Moreover, we also started the construction of child language cognitive lab, and related research was conducted.

In recent years, our lab has leaded and taken part in many projects including 8 National Social Science Foundation of China (NSSFC) projects (3 among them are key projects), 4 National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Projects, 4 National 863 projects, 1 National 973 projects, 1 985 cooperation project of the Ministry of Education, and 6 CASS projects (1 is important project, 2 are key projects). In addition, we developed cooperative research with 5 international research centers (MOTOROLA, NOKIA, TOSHIBA, IBM, ATR), and build cooperating lab with USTC iflytek.

In the year of 2011, the Phelospgy and Social Science Innocation Programme of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was set in motion, and the Laboratory of Phonetics and Speech Science is established as a member of the first round of pilot associations.