Note: This text does not come with the audio cd. To order the 3 audio CD set, use ISBN 013403306X. To order the audio CD packaged with this text, use ISBN 0134204816. Here is a clear, systematic introduction to the fundamentals of linguistic phonetics with a total learning package designed to help students become proficient in phonetics and phonetic transcription. Fundamentals of Phonetics by Larry Small provides speech and hearing students with a good understanding of phonetics principles through practice. The text uses in-text exercises and supplemental audio recordings to teach the practical skills necessary to successfully perform phonetic transcription of individuals using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Students learn about the transcription of consonants and vowels, connected speech, and individuals with speech sound disorders. A chapter on speech acoustics introduces spectrograms and the acoustic characteristics of speech sounds. Students also learn how to transcribe individuals who display regional and ethnic dialectal variation of speech, including those who have learned to speak English as a second language. Throughout the text are included chapter objectives, learning exercises, in-class and take-home assignments, online resources, and study questions that will help students learn, process, and practice the material presented in the text.
I had the pleasure of having Dr. Small as the professor for my phonetics class years ago. I couldn't have asked for a better text to learn phonetics with. Years later, while I don't do it all that often, I can transcribe speech with ease when needed. This is a fantastic book for anyone learning what can be a daunting and confusing subject.
Some of the examples in this book were inconsistent with sounds and many times was not consistent with the way the northeast speakers sound so I found it difficult at times to understand his text. Many times throughout the course, our professor told us to ignore his text and would correct errors from the readings.
(4☆ Would recommend) To be honest, phonetics is not my strong suit. However, this book was very helpful. The practices that come with the book were a life saver.