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There are around 6000 languages in the world today. No two of them have the same sound structure, and yet they show striking similarities in their sound systems. Phonology tries to understand the structure behind these systems, and to answer many of the questions posed by language. Why is there so much variation? How can we describe the pronunciation of a language? What do people do when they play language games? Why do loan words often sound so different from their pronunciation in the donor language?
Assuming little or no background knowledge, and using original examples and exercises, Understanding Phonology provides an introduction to the basics and presents a comprehensive survey of phonological theory. Starting from a phonological perspective, it gives students a solid understanding of the universal nature of phonological structure, while at the same time conveying a feel for the wide range of variation in the phonologies of individual languages. Using examples from a wide range of languages (including non-Indo-European ones) the book addresses subjects such as distinctive features, feature geometry, the mora, the skeletal tier, the syllable, tone, stress, the phonological word, prosodic phonology, and includes an introduction to the latest theories in phonology, notably Optimality Theory.
This improved Second Edition includes answers to all exercises.
ISBN-9780340807354
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Pages : 296
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