Phonetics is the scientific study of sounds used in language- how the sounds are produced, how they are transferred from the speaker to the hearer and how they are heard and perceived. The Sounds of Language provides an accessible, general introduction to phonetics with a special emphasis on English. Focusing on the phonetics of English, the first section allows students to get an overall view of the subject. Two standard accents of English are presented- RP (Received Pronunciation), the standard accent of England, and GA (General American), the standard accent throughout much of North America. The discussion is arranged so that students can read only the RP or GA portions, if desired. Sixteen additional accents of English spoken around the world are also covered to provide students with wider international coverage.The author then moves on to introduce acoustics phonetics in an accessible manner for those without a science background. The last section of the book provides a detailed discussion of all aspects of speech with extensive examples from languages around the world.Containing student-friendly features such as extensive exercises for practising the sounds covered in each chapter; a glossary of technical terms; instructions on how to write phonetic symbols; the latest International Phonetic Alphabet chart and a detailed list of English consonantal variants, The Sounds of Language provides an excellent introduction to phonetics to students of linguistics and speech pathology and students of English as a second language.

Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation highlights the importance of pronunciation in the assessment of second language speaking proficiency. Leading researchers from around the world cover practical issues as well as theoretical principles, enabling the understanding and application of the theory involved in assessment in pronunciation. Key features of this book include: Examination of key criteria in pronunciation assessment, including intelligibility, comprehensibility and accentedness; Exploration of the impact of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca on pronunciation assessment; Evaluation of the validity and reliability of testing, including analysis of scoring methodologies; Discussion of current and future practice in assessing pronunciation via speech recognition technology. Assessment in Second Language Pronunciation is vital reading for students studying modules on pronunciation and language testing and assessment.

In this highly readable and thought-provoking book, Delia Chiaro explores the pragmatics of word play, using frameworks normally adopted in descriptive linguistics. Using examples from personally recorded conversations, she examines the structure of jokes, quips, riddles and asides. Chiaro explores degrees of conformity to and deviation from established conventions; the tellability' of jokes, and the interpretative role of the listener; the creative use of puns, word play and discourse. The emphasis in her analysis is on sociocultural contexts for the production and reception of jokes, and she examines the extent to which jokes are both universal in their appeal, and specific to a particular culture.

Finnish is one of the Finno-Ugrian family of languages, and being historically linked with Swedish, can be compared with that language, particularly in its vocabulary. There are about five million native speakers of the language and large Finnish-speaking minorities in Norway, Sweden, the USA and Canada. It is a morphologically rich language, which has 15 cases and a variety of finite and non-finite verbal categories. Its inflectional suffixes have a wide range of grammatical functions and a large number of derivational affixes, providing a productive source of word formation. It has a complex vowel system. This descriptive grammar explores many interesting details of Finnish syntax, morphology, phonology and lexicon, providing the linguist, for the first time in English, with the opportunity for cross-language comparisons and making this important language accessible to a wide range of theoretical and descriptive linguistic analysis. This book should be of interest to postgraduates and academics in linguistics and Nordic languages.

This impressive volume contains the edited proceedings of a symposium held in honor of Isabelle Y. Liberman, whose teaching and writings laid the foundation for contemporary views of reading disability. Her work has influenced ways of thinking about the nature of the problem and ways of working with children and adults who experience unusual difficulty in learning to read. The symposium covered four themes that were central to Dr. Liberman's research on reading acquisition and disability: the development of phonological awareness, the relationship between phonological awareness and success in learning to read and write, the investigation of other phonological processes associated with reading and writing performance, and the implications of current research on these matters for reading instruction. The text includes a paper on each topic, followed by commentaries which introduce additional research findings and theoretical considerations -- all by leading researchers in the field.

This is an attempt to view historical phonological change as an ongoing, recurrent process. The author sees like events occurring at all periods, a phenomenon which he considers is disguised by too great a reliance upon certain characteristics of the scholarly tradition. Thus he argues that those innovations arrived at by speakers of the English language many years ago are not in principle unlike those that can be seen to be happening today. Phonological mutations are, on the whole, not to be regarded as unique, novel, once only events. Speakers appear to present to speech sound materials, a limited set of evaluative and decoding perceptions, together with what would seem to be a finite number of innovation producing stratagems in response to their interpretation. It is stressed that this interpretation may itself be a direct product of the kinds of data selected for presentation in traditional handbooks and Jones notes the fact that phonological change is often "messy" and responsive to a highly tuned ability to perceive fine phonetic detail of a type which, by definition, rarely has the opportunity to surface in historical data sources.

First published in 1933 (this edition in 1939), this book sees Partridge introducing the reader to the eccentric lexicographers Wesley and Captain Grose. In an entertaining way, the book jovially explores and discusses various words and phrases such as "bloody", euphemisms, the Devil's nicknames, various versions of slang, and familiar terms of address. He does so with light-worn learning making the book of interest to a whole variety of readers.

First published in 1939, this book provides a brief but comprehensive view of language in general, and of English and American language in particular. It is suitable for beginners and those who wish to learn about the basics of linguistics.

Modern generative phonology has witnessed an explosion of models in recent years, in the wake of Chomsky and Halle's monumental 1968 study of The Sound Pattern of English. A variety of competing frameworks have appeared since then, usually labelled non-linear in contrast with the model advocated by Chomsky and Halle. The scene has become so crowded and complex that it is now difficult for specialists and non-specialists alike to see which of these claims are compatible, which contradictory, and which mere notational alternatives. There has been a growing need for a judicious review of the whole field, which Jacques Durand now meets in this timely and impressive addition to the Longman Linguistics Library. In it, the author offers a perceptive discussion of the full range of concepts and debates in modern generative phonology. Starting from the basic notions of classical phonemics, he gives an overview of standard generative phonology, including distinctive feature theory. Thereafter, separate chapters introduce and evaluate such developments as Underspecification Theory, Lexical Phonology, Metrical Phonology, Autodimensional and Multidimensional Phonology, and Dependency Phonology. The book presupposes only a basic knowledge of phonetics in the reader. Designed for linguistics, students of language and linguistics, and information scientists, it will be widely welcomed for its objectivity and range, and for the clarity of Jacques Durand's analysis throughout.

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 any one 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.

For more than two thousand years. Aristotle's "Art of Rhetoric" has shaped thought on the theory and practice of rhetoric, the art of persuasive speech. In three sections, Aristotle discusses what rhetoric is, as well as the three kinds of rhetoric (deliberative, judicial, and epideictic), the three rhetorical modes of persuasion, and the diction, style, and necessary parts of a successful speech. Throughout, Aristotle defends rhetoric as an art and a crucial tool for deliberative politics while also recognizing its capacity to be misused by unscrupulous politicians to mislead or illegitimately persuade others. Here Robert C. Bartlett offers a literal, yet easily readable, new translation of Aristotle's "Art of Rhetoric," one that takes into account important alternatives in the manuscript and is fully annotated to explain historical, literary, and other allusions. Bartlett's translation is also accompanied by an outline of the argument of each book; copious indexes, including subjects, proper names, and literary citations; a glossary of key terms; and a substantial interpretive essay.

Much of the work currently conducted within the framework of Universal Grammar and language learnability focuses on the acquisition of syntax. However, the learnability issues are just as applicable to the domain of phonology. This volume is the first to gather research that assumes a sophisticated phonological framework and considers the implications of this framework for language acquisition -- both first and second. As such, this book truly deals with phonological acquisition rather than phonetic acquisition.

This book is an up-to-date, comprehensive, and theoretically coherent account of the phonology of modern Welsh. It begins by describing the history of Welsh, its relation to the other Celtic languages and its phonetic inventory. Six chapters then explore the structures underlying its sound system. The first considers the phonetic background, including segment inventories and the characteristics of the main dialects. The second examines phonological structures including syllables, feet, phonotactics, and stress. The third and fourth analyse phonological alternations in the language, such as vowel mutation and assimilation, and foot-based phenomena such as the behaviour of /h/ and antepenultimate deletion. The fifth examines the phonological representation of initial consonant mutation, one of the best known and least understood characteristics of Celtic phonology in which the initial consonant of a word undergoes a systematic alternation with a consonant that is phonetically different. The concluding chapter summarizes the work's major points and arguments and highlights opportunities for research. S. J. Hannahs approaches the subject from the perspective of generative phonological theory. He couches specific analyses in the constraint-based framework of optimality theory but presents data in as theory-neutral a way as possible to ensure its accessibility to linguists of all theoretical persuasions.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Understanding Humor through Communication explores theories of humor origin as well as humor functions in human groups and societies through communication. A model of humor decision by individuals is detailed, followed by humor's emergence in communication. Elements of humor sources (incongruity, superiority, and relief), humor intent (comic or tragic perspectives), and humor perception (ego-involvement, script awareness, bona-fide messages, and non-bona-fide messages) are incorporated. Persuasive, organizational, and interpersonal settings involving humor are explored in depth to consider its functions. The individual choice to experience humor is detailed in its effects, as are the social implications of widespread humor desired and invoked in human society. Understanding Humor through Communication will appeal to scholars of communication, psychology, and sociology.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

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.

This accessible satellite textbook in the Routledge Intertext series is unique in offering students hands-on practical experience of textual analysis focused on speech and writing. Written in a clear, user-friendly style, it combines practical activities with texts, accompanied by commentaries and suggestions for further study. It can be used individually or in conjunction with the series core textbook Working With Texts: A core introduction to language analysis. Aimed at A and AS Level and beginning undergraduate students, the Language of Speech and Writing: * Analyses the processes involved in writing and speaking * Highlights the differences between these two modes of communication * Explores written texts from recipes to legal language, spoken texts from telephone conversations to interviews and mixed-mode texts from email to adverts * Compares and contrasts spoken and written texts on the same theme

This book, first published in 1984, presents a series of analysis of colloquial spoken language, to illustrate some of the variety of phonological features of British English. These studies provide significant insights into linguistic varieties and their inter-relationship as a phonological system and into social differentiation as reflected in linguistic variety. The main part of the book is devoted to a presentation, in transcription, of the speech of informants from a number of localities and a discussion of the main phonological features exemplified thereby. An attempt was made to induce natural conversation rather than use direct question-and-answer techniques. Although the book cannot provide a comprehensive survey of the infinite variety of spoken British English, the material does come from a wide age range, both sexes, diverse geographical areas, and both urban and rural communities. It represents a major in-depth analysis that will interest phonologists and workers and students of sociolinguistics.

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.

This volume focuses on the remediation of impairments of word production in aphasia. It is restricted to studies focusing on single word production and comprises papers by some of the researchers most active in this field worldwide. The scope of the papers is broad and includes many relatively under-researched areas and techniques. All the papers have in common a methodological rigour and the use of a single case or case-series approach. A range of treatment tasks are evaluated: 'phonological' tasks such as phonological cueing and word repetition, and judgements regarding the phonological form; 'orthographic' tasks such as orthographic cueing, word reading and writing to dictation; 'semantic' tasks such as semantic cueing; the use of gesture; computer presentation of tasks and even just repeated attempts at naming. In addition, the individuals treated using these techniques varied in the nature of their impairments and/or level of impairment that was targeted. The majority aimed to improve word retrieval generally, but one treatment was aimed specifically at verb retrieval, and another at improving accuracy of word production for an individual with a phonological encoding impairment. Each paper relates the outcome of treatment to theoretical accounts of impairment, and one explicitly uses the results of therapy to inform these theories. Taken together these papers provide a snapshot of the 'state of the art' in the rehabilitation of word production in aphasia.

First published in 1939, this book provides a brief but comprehensive view of language in general, and of English and American language in particular. It is suitable for beginners and those who wish to learn about the basics of linguistics.

This book aims to aid English teachers at the junior and senior secondary school levels in teaching pronunciation within a regular EFL syllabus. It presents such a way of incorporating the phonetic and lexical components so as to facilitate students' acquisition of a standard phonetic system and to prevent them from forming habitual mistakes in individual words. It highlights key areas of the English phonetic system and provides examples of strategies how to use a course-book for the sake of teaching pronunciation. The discussion of teaching the phonetic system relies on the comparison between its conscious and unconscious acquisition. Teaching individual vocabulary items (especially reversing habitual mispronunciations) is analysed through contrasting mental and behavioural learning.

From an integrative perspective this study analyses the evolution of ethnolinguistic variability in Cameroon English (CamE) pronunciation along the educational echelon. Focus is on the phonetic/phonological variables of ethnolects distinctive from Received Pronunciation and CamE, and markers which prompt attitudinal reactions in speakers and listeners' perceptions. Interviews are conducted and a questionnaire designed to elicit pronunciation and attitudinal variability. Integrative methods are explored to analyse the data, and the "trace element hypothesis" postulated. As contribution to studies on the evolution in the New Englishes it proposes the lectal continuum and fossilised CamE features as yard sticks for mainstreaming CamE phonology and advocates sociophonetics in language teaching.