The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics

by Henry Rogers

Phonetics is the scientific study of sounds used in language- how the sounds are produced, how they are transferred from the speaker to the hearer and how they are heard and perceived. The Sounds of Language provides an accessible, general introduction to phonetics with a special emphasis on English.
Focusing on the phonetics of English, the first section allows students to get an overall view of the subject. Two standard accents of English are presented- RP (Received Pronunciation), the standard accent of England, and GA (General American), the standard accent throughout much of North America. The discussion is arranged so that students can read only the RP or GA portions, if desired. Sixteen additional accents of English spoken around the world are also covered to provide students with wider international coverage.
The author then moves on to introduce acoustics phonetics in an accessible manner for those without a science background. The last section of the book provides a detailed discussion of all aspects of speech with extensive examples from languages around the world.
Containing student-friendly features such as extensive exercises for practising the sounds covered in each chapter; a glossary of technical terms; instructions on how to write phonetic symbols; the latest International Phonetic Alphabet chart and a detailed list of English consonantal variants, The Sounds of Language provides an excellent introduction to phonetics to students of linguistics and speech pathology and students of English as a second language.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction, School, Textbooks

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2000

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, good exercises. If the class hadn't been so awful I might have enjoyed it more.

[Sami · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful resource in phonetics. I use it quite often to prepare the handouts for the phonetics course in my university.

[Kieran Darnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible for the beginner, takes you to a level of comfort and confidence when encountering non-native words

[Dobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite frankly it’s an essential starter textbook that is easy to read and understand for anybody wanting to study phonetics, acoustic phonetics, IPA transcription, and is good foundation to launch yourself into phonology later on.

[King Haddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good textbook, if simple, and enjoyable to read.

[Molly Doccola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phonetics is so cool.