A problem-based introduction to phonetics, with over three hundred exercises integrated into the text to help the student discover and practice the subject interactively. It assumes no previous knowledge of the subject and highlights and explains new terms and concepts when they are first introduced. Graded review questions and exercises at the end of every unit help the student monitor their own progress and further practice new skills, and there is frequent cross-referencing for the student to see how the subject fits together and how later concepts build on earlier ones. The book highlights the differences between speech and writing in Unit One and covers all the essential topics of a phonetics course.
1. The difference between speech and writing; 2. Consonant voicing; 3. Consonant place of articulation; 4. Consonant manner of articulation; 5. The IPA chart and mid-sagittal sections for consonants; 6. Vowels; 7. Airstream mechanisms; 8. Syllables and stress; 9. Allophonic variations of voice; 10. Allophonic variations of place; 11. Allophonic variations of manner; 12. Allophonic variations of vowels; 13. Allophonic transcription and parametric diagrams; 14. Speech sound variation; 15. Weak forms and elision; 16. Liaison; 17. Assimilation; 18. Broad transcription; 19. Intonation; 20. Functions of intonation.
