(Phonetic Data Analysis: An Introduction to Fieldwork and Instrumental Techniques) [By: Ladefoged, Peter] [Aug, 2003]

by Peter Ladefoged

Describing how people talk requires recording and analyzing phonetic data. This is true for researchers investigating the variant pronunciations of street names in Los Angeles, missionaries translating the Bible into a little-known tongue, and scholars obtaining data from a carefully controlled group in a laboratory experiment. Phonetic Data Analysis examines the procedures involved in describing the sounds of a language and illustrates the basic techniques of experimental phonetics, most of them requiring little more than a tape recorder, a video camera, and a computer.This book enables readers to work with a speaker in a classroom setting or to go out into the field and make their own discoveries about how the sounds of a language are made. Peter Ladefoged, one of the world 's leading phoneticians, introduces the experimental phonetic techniques for describing the major phonetic characteristics of any language. Throughout the book there are also comments, written in a more anecdotal fashion, on Ladefoged 's own fieldwork.

Genres: Linguistics, Textbooks, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Bridget Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s technically a textbook but it reads like a funny blog.

[Emperador Spock · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a real treasure chest of practical advice on conducting phonetic experiments (primarily in the field), and Peter Ladefoged shares with the reader more than 40 years of experience in phonetic research. The book is well-written, and is a pleasure to read: the short anecdotes about things that happened to the author in the field offer a nice change from the more complicated and serious material.

I have just two tiny complaints about this, otherwise excellent, book: (1) it came out ten years ago, and it shows in some technical details (though it's still valid, and in no way obsolete), (2) at times it feels that the author shies away from maths: there is a spot or two in the book where a paragraph of explanations could be more clearly and concisely represented with a simple formula.

[Светлана · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, but I wish someone would organize all these data analysis tips into some infographics or charts because it is like drinking from a firehose of new terminology and nuances.