noun
phonetic kana usage
A technical term in Japanese linguistics referring to a kana orthography that directly represents pronunciation, as opposed to historical kana usage (歴史的仮名遣い).
現代仮名遣いは表音式仮名遣いの一種です。
Modern kana usage is a type of phonetic kana usage.
Compound of 表音 (hyōon, 'representing sound') + 式 (shiki, 'style') + 仮名遣い (kanazukai, 'kana usage').