Suprasegmental Phonology And Segmental Form

Over the past few decades, the book series Linguistische Arbeiten [Linguistic Studies], comprising over 500 volumes, has made a significant contribution to the development of linguistic theory both in Germany and internationally. The series will continue to deliver new impulses for research and maintain the central insight of linguistics that progress can only be made in acquiring new knowledge about human languages both synchronically and diachronically by closely combining empirical and theoretical analyses. To this end, we invite submission of high-quality linguistic studies from all the central areas of general linguistics and the linguistics of individual languages which address topical questions, discuss new data and advance the development of linguistic theory.

A comprehensive overview of current developments in phonological theory, by providing a number of papers in different areas of current theorizing which reflect on particular problems from different angles. This volume deals with phonological structure above the segmental level, in particular with syllable structure, metrical structure and sentence-level prosodic structure.

&"A phonologist ignores phonetics at his own peril,&" remarks Professor Lehiste, whose work in acoustic phonetics and in historical and descriptive phonology over the past decade has resulted in this important experimental study of the linguistic function of suprasegmentals. The author assembles and summarizes what is currently known about the phonetic nature of suprasegmentals and evaluates the available evidence from the point of view of linguistic theory. She describes observed linguistic facts, seeks to explain them, and attempts to set up predictions. The book contains a great deal of painstakingly gathered evidence for the existence of speech patterns whose domain is larger than a segment and which, the author states, should form a part of linguistic theory. Suprasegmental features are either listed as the set of features consisting of pitch, stress, and quantity or defined as features whose domain extends over more than one segment. In American linguistics, the author points out, the term is used more or less synonymously with prosodic features. She contends that neither definition is complete and intends in this research to provide a more fully satisfying description of these complex and elusive phenomena. The emphasis of Professor Lehiste's work is on the production and perception of suprasegmental features. She attempts to identify the phonetic conditioning factors within which the features may be manifested, then considers their linguistic functions at the word level and at the sentence level. Foe convenience, a chart immediately following the introductory chapter illustrates the scheme of presentation followed throughout the book. Chapter 2 deals with duration and its linguistic function. It considers physiological mechanisms involved in producing quantity phenomena, their physical (acoustic) manifestation, the perceptual correlates of quantity, various phonetic phenomena connected with quantity, and the linguistic function of quantity. Chapter 3 considers the suprasegmental elements of pitch, tone, and intonation. &"Tonal features&" is used here as a general term referring to all aspects of the linguistic use of fundamental frequency and its physical and perceptual correlates. Chapter 4 deals with the most elusive of the suprasegmental features, stress. The author discusses some of the physiological correlates of linguistic stress which have been established by experimental techniques over the past 15 years. In a concluding chapter Professor Lehiste evaluates the findings and considers their potential contribution to linguistic theory. Professor Lehiste has provided substantial groundwork for further research in phonetics, including the investigation of suprasegmental sandhi effects and the role of suprasegmentals in morphophonemic rules.

Even though second-language learners may master the grammar and vocabulary of the new languages, they almost never achieve a native phonology (accent). Scholars and professionals dealing with second-language learners would agree that this is one of the most persistent challenges they face. Now, for the first time, Roy Major's Foreign Accent covers the exploding scholarship in this area and lays out the issues specifically for audiences in the second language acquisition and applied linguistics community.

This collection of articles presents the latest international work in the major areas of phonology, including segmental and suprasegmental phonological theory, and the interface with phonetics, morphology, and syntax. The papers, which were originally presented at the International Phonology Meeting, July, 1988 have been carefully revised and edited in order to create a high-quality overall view of current work in phonology and related areas. As such, it provides essential reading on the central issues in phonology today.

This volume is a collection of 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular issue that is crucial to our understanding of the way learners acquire, learn, and use an L2 sound system. In addition, it spans both theory and application in L2 phonology. The book is divided into three parts, with each section unified by broad thematic content: Part I, “Theoretical Issues and Frameworks in L2 Phonology,” lays the groundwork for examining L2 phonological acquisition. Part II, “Second Language Speech Perception and Production,” examines these two aspects of L2 speech in more detail. Finally, Part III, “Technology, Training, and Curriculum,” bridges the gap between theory and practice. Each chapter examines theoretical frameworks, major research findings (both classic and recent), methodological issues and choices for conducting research in a particular area of L2 phonology, and major implications of the research findings for more general models of language acquisition and/or pedagogy.

The term “crosscurrent” is defined as “a current flowing counter to another.” This volume represents crosscurrents in second language acquisition and linguistic theory in several respects. First, although the main currents running between linguistics and second language acquisition have traditionally flowed from theory to application, equally important contributions can be made in the other direction as well. Second, although there is a strong tendency in the field of linguistics to see “theorists” working within formal models of syntax, SLA research can contribute to linguistic theory more broadly defined to include various functional as well as formal models of syntax, theories of phonology, variationist theories of sociolinguists, etc. These assumptions formed the basis for a conference held at Stanford University during the Linguistic Institute there in the summer of 1987. The conference was organized to update the relation between second language acquisition and linguistic theory. This book contains a selection of (mostly revised and updated) papers of this conference and two newly written papers.