Critical Introduction To Phonology, A: Of Sound, Mind, And Body

Description: 'Continuum Critical Introductions to Linguistics' present core areas of the subject from refreshing new perspectives. 'A Critical Introduction to Phonology' is engagingly written and uses anecdotes and examples drawn from popular culture to illustrate each point. The book provides comprehensive coverage of all the key areas of the subject, and Daniel Silverman prompts critical thinking about this core area of linguistics throughout the text. It will therefore be essential reading for students taking introductory phonology courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to phonology which departs from the mainstream tradition. Daniel Silverman introduces the key aspects of phonology, and argues that the nature of linguistic sound systems can only be understood in the context of how they are actually used and experienced by speakers and listeners. Using phonological examples from a large corpus of data, Daniel Silverman introduces phonology as a practical subject to be enjoyed, rather than as a theoretical minefield with no bearing on the reality of how people speak. Review: ''This is an excellent proposal and what I have read of the completed chapters encourages me to support the publication of the book unequivocally... I think this would make an excellent addition to the growing linguistics output from Continuum, especially as it is not just another introduction to phonology.' Dr Ken Lodge, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and Phonetics, University of East Anglia. 'This is both a useful and important proposal... I feel that it is important that undergraduate and graduate students be able to have access to something other than mainstream received ideas, and I think that Silverman's book would provide this in an accessible form... its greatest strength is its originality.' Philip Carr, Professor of Linguistics, Universite Paul Valery, France.' Table of Contents: Introduction; Part I: I speak what's in my mouth; 1. Three Types of Sound Substitution; 2. Contrastive Sound Substitution; 3. Allophonic Sound Substitution; 4. Neutralizing Sound Substitution; Part II: I speak what's on my mind; 5. Alternation and Structuration; 6. Variation and Probability; 7. The Pull of Phonetics; the Push of Phonology; 8. Sounds or Words?; 9. The Darwinian Metaphor; Epilogue: I speak, therefore you are Appendix: Acoustic Phonetics Primer. Author Biography: Dr Daniel Silverman is the author of Phasing and Recoverability, New York: Garland, 1997.