Practical Phonetics

Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students. Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings – all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible ‘two-dimensional’ structure is built around four sections – Introduction, Development, Exploration and Extension – which offer self-contained stages for study. Revised and updated throughout, this fourth edition of Practical English Phonetics and Phonology: presents the essentials of the subject and their day-to-day applications in an engaging and accessible manner; covers all the core concepts of phonetics and phonology, such as the phoneme, syllable structure, production of speech, vowel and consonant possibilities, glottal settings, stress, rhythm, intonation and the surprises of connected speech; incorporates classic readings from key names in the discipline; outlines the sound systems of six key languages from around the world (Spanish, French, Italian, German, Polish and Japanese); is accompanied by a brand-new companion website which hosts a collection of samples provided by genuine speakers of 25 accent varieties from Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Singapore and West Africa, as well as transcriptions, further study questions, answer keys, links to further reading and numerous recordings to accompany activities in the book. This edition has been completely reorganised and new features include: updated descriptions of the sounds of modern English and the adoption of the term General British (GB); considerable expansion of the treatment of intonation, including new recordings; and two new readings by David Crystal and John Wells. Written by authors who are experienced teachers and researchers, this best-selling textbook will appeal to all students of English language and linguistics and those training for a certificate in TEFL.

Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students. Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings—all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible ‘two-dimensional’ structure is built around four sections—introduction, development, exploration and extension—which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained. Revised and updated throughout, this third edition of Practical Phonetics and Phonology: presents the essentials of the subject and their day-to-day applications in an engaging and accessible manner covers all the core concepts of speech science, such as the phoneme, syllable structure, production of speech, vowel and consonant possibilities, glottal settings, stress, rhythm, intonation and the surprises of connected speech incorporates classic readings from key names in the discipline including David Abercrombie, David Crystal, Dennis Fry, Daniel Jones, Peter Ladefoged, Peter Trudgill and John Wells includes an audio CD containing a collection of samples provided by genuine speakers of 25 accent varieties from Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Singapore and West Africa gives outlines of the sound systems of six key languages from around the world contains over a hundred activity exercises, many accompanied by audio material is accompanied by a brand new companion website featuring additional guidance, audio files, keys to activities in the book, further exercises and activities, and extra practice in phonemic transcription New features of this edition include an additional reading on teaching pronunciation, phonetic descriptions of three more languages (Japanese, Polish and Italian), expanded material on spelling/sound relationships, more information on acquiring the pronunciation of a foreign language, additional suggestions for further reading and much new illustrative material. Written by authors who are experienced teachers and researchers, this best-selling textbook will appeal to all students of English language and linguistics and those training for a certificate in TEFL.

'Review from previous edition 'an introduction to general phonetics that integrates the articulatory and the acoustic aspects of the subject in a way that few other introductory works do; that gives a comprehensive view of the whole subject' -Kritikon LitterarumThis book is an introduction to practical phonetics, that is, to the description and classification of the sounds of speech. The book's unique approach leads readers to explore the entire range of human sounds by a series of introspective experiments carried out in their own vocal tracts. This highly practical exploration of the subject is informed throughout by recent research, particularly in the aerodynamics and acoustics of speech. The second edition, now part of the Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics series, has been updated throughout, and is now consistent with the revised International Phonetic Alphabet (1996).

This wide-ranging introduction to practical aspects of English phonetics and phonology offers an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings.

First published in 1933, this book looks at the phonetics of African languages. It argues that a good grounding in phonetics and tone work is an indispensable preliminary to anyone embarking on a study of African language and so provides the material necessary for this in a simple form. The volume is primarily a practical manual for students of African languages but will also be an invaluable tool for students of general linguistics as a work of scientific interest. The languages observed present features of language that are very different to those found in Europe.

First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This engaging, succinct text is an introduction to both phonetics and phonology as applied to the teaching of pronunciation to English language learners. Section 1 selectively covers the main areas of phonetics and phonology, without going into any area in more depth than the average English language teacher requires or that the average English language teacher trainee can handle. Section 2 focuses on practical issues related to learners and how they learn languages, and what represents good practice in terms of classroom activities for pronunciation—including aspects such as targets, motivation and priorities. The chapters end with activities to help the reader understand concepts. Section 3 provides innovative sample activities which put into practice the theoretical points covered in the first two sections, answers to the various exercises, recommended further reading (both print and non-print), a glossary of technical phonetic terms, and a bibliography of works on pronunciation teaching. The text is accompanied by a Companion Website with audio recordings of model pronunciations and audio material relating to the activities.

Combining coverage of the key concepts and tools within phonetics and phonology with a systematic introduction to Praat, this textbook provides a lively and engaging 'way in' to the discipline. The author first covers the fundamentals of the articulatory and acoustic aspects of speech and introduces Praat as the main tool for examining and visualising speech. Next, the unit of analysis is gradually expanded (from syllables to words to turns and dialogues) and excerpts of real dialogues exemplify the core concepts for discovering how speech works. The final part of the book brings all the concepts and notions together with commentaries to the transcription of several short excerpts of dialogues. This book will be essential reading for students on undergraduate courses in phonetics and phonology.