Textualist: A textualist is an originalist who gives primary weight to the text and structure of the Constitution. The text means what it would have been understood to mean by an ordinary person at the time it was written. Textualists often are skeptical of the ability of judges to determine collective intent..
Noun. 1. phonetic alphabet-an alphabet of characters intended to represent specific sounds of speech. sound alphabet. alphabet-a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language. visible speech-a phonetic alphabet invented by Melville Bell in the 19th century. phonetic symbol-a written character used in phonetic transcription of represent a particular speech sound.
letter of the alphabet - the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech; his grandmother taught him his letters. alphabetic character, letter. spelling - forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage. alphabet - a character set that includes letters and is used to write a language. grapheme, graphic symbol, character - a written symbol that is used to represent speech; the Greek alphabet has 24 characters. ascender - a lowercase letter that has a part extending above other lowercase letters. descender - a lowercase letter that has a part extending below other lowercase letters.