An Introduction to English Phonology

This is a short, lively, and accessible introduction to the sounds of modern English. Its emphasis on variation, with examples from British, American, New Zealand, and Singaporean English, make it suitable for both native and non-native speakers. McMahon focuses on the vowels and consonants, but also discusses syllables, stress, and the phonology of words and phrases. She introduces new tools and terminology gradually, and discusses the motivation for key concepts.

To colleagues

ix

Sounds, spellings and symbols

1

(11)

Phonetics and phonology

1

(3)

Variation

4

(1)

The International Phonetic Alphabet

5

(7)

Recommendations for reading

11

(1)

The phoneme: the same but different

12

(11)

Variation and when to ignore it

12

(1)

Conditioned variation in written language

13

(1)

The phoneme

14

(3)

Some further examples

17

(2)

The reality of the phoneme

19

(4)

Exercises

21

(1)

Recommendations for reading

22

(1)

Describing English consonants

23

(13)

What's inside a phonetic symbol?

23

(1)

Consonant classification

23

(1)

The anatomy of a consonant

24

(12)

Exercises

34

(1)

Recommendations for reading

35

(1)

Defining distributions: consonant allophones

36

(16)

Phonemes revisited

36

(1)

Making generalisations

36

(2)

Making statements more precise

38

(2)

A more economical feature system

40

(6)

Natural classes

46

(1)

A warning note on phonological rules

47

(5)

Exercises

50

(1)

Recommendations for reading

51

(1)

Criteria for contrast: the phoneme system

52

(15)

Minimal pairs and beyond

52

(1)

Phonetic similarity and defective distributions

53

(3)

Free variation

56

(2)

Neutralisation

58

(2)

Phonology and morphology

60

(2)

Rules and constraints

62

(1)

The phoneme system

63

(4)

Exercises

65

(1)

Recommendations for reading

66

(1)

Describing vowels

67

(12)

Vowels versus consonants

67

(2)

The anatomy of a vowel

69

(5)

Vowel classification

74

(5)

Exercises

77

(1)

Recommendations for reading

78

(1)

Vowel phonemes

79

(13)

The same but different again

79

(1)

Establishing vowel contrasts

79

(6)

Vowel features and allophonic rules

85

(2)

Phonetic similarity and defective distribution

87

(1)

Free variation, neutralisation and morphophonemics

88

(4)

Exercises

91

(1)

Recommendations for reading

91

(1)

Variation between accents

92

(12)

The importance of accent

92

(2)

Systemic differences

94

(5)

Realisational differences

99

(2)

Distributional differences

101

(3)

Exercises

102

(1)

Recommendations for reading

103

(1)

Syllables

104

(13)

Phonology above the segment

104

(1)

The syllable

104

(1)

Constituents of the syllable

105

(1)

The grammar of syllables: patterns of acceptability

106

(3)

Justifying the constituents

109

(8)

Exercises

115

(1)

Recommendations for reading

116

(1)

The word and above

117

(16)

Phonological units above the syllable

117

(1)

Stress

118

(6)

The foot

124

(4)

Segmental phonology of the phrase and word

128

(5)

Exercises

131

(1)

Recommendations for reading

132

(1)

Discussion of the exercises

133

(10)

References

143

(2)

Index

145

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

An Introduction to English Phonology

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials