Overview

This textbook introduces the main units and concepts you require to describe speech sounds accurately. By working through the book and the various exercises included, you will come to understand the need for a dedicated system of description and transcription for speech sounds, and for a degree of phonological abstraction to support our understanding of the behaviour of sounds in particular languages and varieties. You will learn to carry out elementary, broad phonetic transcription, and be able to establish contrastive vowel and consonant systems for your own varieties and to express simple generalisations reflecting the productive and predictable patterns of English sounds. At the end of the book there is a section guiding you through some of the exercises and there is also a detailed glossary which will be useful for assignments or revision during exams.

Full Product Details

Author:   April McMahon (Professor in the Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Manchester)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
Edition:   2nd edition
Weight:   0.270kg
ISBN:  

9781474463690

ISBN 10:   147446369
Pages:   212
Publication Date:   28 February 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

To students; To colleagues 1. Sounds, spellings and symbols 1.1 Phonetics and phonology 1.2 Variation 1.3 The International Phonetic Alphabet Exercises and topics for discussionRecommendations for reading 2 The phoneme: the same but different 2.1 Variation and when to ignore it 2.2 Conditioned variation in written language 2.3 The phoneme 2.4 Some further examples 2.5 The reality of the phoneme Exercises and topics for discussion Recommendations for reading 3 Describing English consonants 3.1 What’s inside a phonetic symbol? 3.2 Consonant classification 3.3 The anatomy of a consonant Exercises Recommendations for reading 4 Defining distributions: consonant allophones 4.1 Phonemes revisited 4.2 Making generalisations 4.3 Making statements more precise 4.4 A more economical feature system 4.5 Natural classes 4.6 A warning note on phonological rules Exercises and topics for discussion Recommendations for reading 5 Criteria for contrast: the phoneme system 5.1 Minimal pairs and beyond 5.2 Phonetic similarity and defective distributions 5.3 Free variation 5.4 Neutralisation 5.5 Phonology and morphology 5.6 Rules and constraints 5.7 The phoneme system Exercises and topics for discussion Recommendations for reading 6 Describing vowels 6.1 Vowels versus consonants 6.2 The anatomy of a vowel 6.3 Vowel classification Exercises Recommendations for reading 7 Vowel phonemes 7.1 The same but different again 7.2 Establishing vowel contrasts 7.3 Vowel features and allophonic rules 7.4 Phonetic similarity and defective distribution 7.5 Free variation, neutralisation and morphophonemics Exercises and topics for discussion Recommendations for reading 8 Variation between accents 8.1 The importance of accent 8.2 Systemic differences 8.3 Realisational differences 8.4 Distributional differences8.5 New accents – language contact and World Englishes Exercises and topics for discussion Recommendations for reading 9 Syllables 9.1 Phonology above the segment 9.2 The syllable 9.3 Constituents of the syllable 9.4 The grammar of syllables: patterns of acceptability 9.5 Justifying the constituents Exercises and topics for discussion Recommendations for reading 10 The word and above 10.1 Phonological units above the syllable 10.2 Stress 10.3 The foot 10.4 Segmental phonology of the phrase and word10.5 Intonation Exercises and topics for discussionRecommendations for reading Glossary; Discussion of the exercises; References; Index

Reviews

All in all, An Introduction to English Phonology gives an excellent, concise overview of the subject and is a must for all teachers and students involved in the teaching of English in higher education. -- Brian Mott, Universitat de Barcelona * AEDEAN Nexus * The recommended reading for each chapter presents the interested student with material for further study, and the exercises provided are interesting, relevant and often thought provoking. * Linguist List (praise for the 1st edition) * The first edition of this book in 2002 was innovative in recruiting a leading phonologist to present an engagingly-written introduction to the field of phonology that was actually pitched at an appropriate level for beginning undergraduates. Since that time much has changed in linguistics and in society, and this new edition of McMahon’s classic textbook hits the mark with its incorporation of contemporary authentic examples of English usage, exercises with answer keys, a new section on the rapidly growing field of intonation studies, and expanded coverage of World Englishes. -- Dr Bert Vaux, University of Cambridge

The recommended reading for each chapter presents the interested student with material for further study, and the exercises provided are interesting, relevant and often thought provoking. --Linguist List (praise for the 1st edition)

"The first edition of this book in 2002 was innovative in recruiting a leading phonologist to present an engagingly-written introduction to the field of phonology that was actually pitched at an appropriate level for beginning undergraduates. Since that time much has changed in linguistics and in society, and this new edition of McMahon's classic textbook hits the mark with its incorporation of contemporary authentic examples of English usage, exercises with answer keys, a new section on the rapidly growing field of intonation studies, and expanded coverage of World Englishes.--Dr Bert Vaux, University of Cambridge The recommended reading for each chapter presents the interested student with material for further study, and the exercises provided are interesting, relevant and often thought provoking.-- ""Linguist List (praise for the 1st edition)"" All in all, An Introduction to English Phonology gives an excellent, concise overview of the subject and is a must for all teachers and students involved in the teaching of English in higher education.--Brian Mott, Universitat de Barcelona ""AEDEAN Nexus"""

Author Information

April McMahon is Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students at the University of Manchester, and Professor in the Department of Linguistics and English Language. Her previous books include Understanding Language Change, Lexical Phonology and the History of English and Change, Chance, and Optimality.

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