Phonology: The Basics

Based on thirty years experience of teaching phonology, this textbook is the ideal introduction to the subject for beginning students. Each chapter is deliberately kept at an accessible length, enabling students to gain a digestible and stimulating overview of the subject. * Provides a concise and current introduction to the core concepts of phonology * Each of the ten chapters is a digestible and accessible length designed to give beginning students a stimulating coverage of the topic without being too dense or overly-technical * Includes coverage of the distinctive nature of sounds in languages, the way they assimilate to their neighbours, how this may be represented, the way sounds are grouped into syllables and feet, and how to derive a pronounceable output from a lexical representation * Features extensive exercises from languages such as English and Dutch * Designed to meet the needs of students new to the subject, and to make the study of phonology enjoyable