Designed for students with only a basic knowledge of linguistics, this leading textbook provides a clear and practical introduction to phonology, the study of sound patterns in language. It teaches in a step-by-step fashion the logical techniques of phonological analysis and the fundamental theories that underpin it. This thoroughly revised and updated edition teaches students how to analyze phonological data, how to think critically about data, how to formulate rules and hypotheses, and how to test them. New to this edition: * Improved examples, over 60 exercises and 14 new problem sets from a wide variety of languages encourage students to practise their own analysis of phonological processes and patterns * A new and updated reference list of phonetic symbols and an updated transcription system, making data more accessible to students * Additional online material includes pedagogical suggestions and password-protected answer keys for instructors

As is typical of African languages, there is little published material on Kimatuumbi, a Bantu language spoken in Tanzania. Apart from Professor Odden's own theoretically-oriented papers the only existing primary description of the language is Krumm's Grundriss einer Grammatik des Kimatubi (1912) which lacks any discussion of two of the most interesting and complex phonological properties of the language - vowel length and tone. The descriptive account of these properties and of rule interaction in Kimatuumbi phonology bears on a number of important theoretical issues including theories of interaction between phonology and syntax, lexical phonology, the geometric representation of vowel features, and the theory of prosodic representations. This study both broadens our understanding of the structure of African languages and provides data which are crucial for resolving certain questions in contemporary phonology theory.

Designed for students with only a basic knowledge of linguistics, this leading textbook provides a clear and practical introduction to phonology, the study of sound patterns in language. It teaches in a step-by-step fashion the logical techniques of phonological analysis and the fundamental theories that underpin it. This thoroughly revised and updated edition teaches students how to analyze phonological data, how to think critically about data, how to formulate rules and hypotheses, and how to test them. New to this edition: * Improved examples, over 60 exercises and 14 new problem sets from a wide variety of languages encourage students to practise their own analysis of phonological processes and patterns * A new and updated reference list of phonetic symbols and an updated transcription system, making data more accessible to students * Additional online material includes pedagogical suggestions and password-protected answer keys for instructors