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Sounds Appealing: The Passionate Story of English Pronunciation
It's not what you say, it's the way that you say it ...
There have long been debates about pronunciation, and Britain's most distinguished linguistic expert, David Crystal, is here to tell us why, and how, we pronounce words as we do. Outlining the different effects created by pronunciation and the delivery of speech - from Eliza Doolittle to Winston Churchill - Sounds Appealing examines how phonetics and pronunciation shape our identity.
As entertaining as it is enlightening, both casual and committed linguists alike will be utterly intrigued by the peculiarities of pronunciation. Equipping his readers with a present and historical knowledge of phonetics and linguistics, David Crystal will have you delighting in the intricacies and eccentricities of spoken English.
There have long been debates about pronunciation, and Britain's most distinguished linguistic expert, David Crystal, is here to tell us why, and how, we pronounce words as we do. Outlining the different effects created by pronunciation and the delivery of speech - from Eliza Doolittle to Winston Churchill - Sounds Appealing examines how phonetics and pronunciation shape our identity.
As entertaining as it is enlightening, both casual and committed linguists alike will be utterly intrigued by the peculiarities of pronunciation. Equipping his readers with a present and historical knowledge of phonetics and linguistics, David Crystal will have you delighting in the intricacies and eccentricities of spoken English.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published December 14, 2017
27 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
David Crystal
230 books770 followersDavid Crystal works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales, as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941, he spent his early years in Holyhead. His family moved to Liverpool in 1951, and he received his secondary schooling at St Mary's College. He read English at University College London (1959-62), specialised in English language studies, did some research there at the Survey of English Usage under Randolph Quirk (1962-3), then joined academic life as a lecturer in linguistics, first at Bangor, then at Reading. He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and became known chiefly for his research work in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts, notably in the development of a range of linguistic profiling techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He held a chair at the University of Reading for 10 years, and is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. These days he divides his time between work on language and work on internet applications.
source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/
source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 4, 2018
David Crystal is a respected academic linguist, and I’ve enjoyed four other books of his (see my reviews on my Language-Related shelf). By far the best for the general reader is The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left (see my reviews HERE).
In many respects, this book is typical Crystal: engaging, informative, and wearing its erudition very lightly. The chapters are short and punchy, interspersed with the odd quiz to help the reader understand and compare pronunciation, pull-out boxes of related anecdotes, all supported by comprehensive notes and index. But there is surprisingly little mention of IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), let alone a table of signs and symbols.
Although it’s good, it’s not as enjoyable as his others. It’s quite technical, without being at all difficult for a general reader. An objective 4*, with 3* for my level of interest and enjoyment.
It’s too niche a subject, and one that is not ideal for a printed book. It would work better as a vlog, interactive ebook, or by listening to it on audio alongside reading on the page. It was certainly tricky to read in public, as I found myself mouthing sounds, and often wanting to say things aloud.
Bits and Bobs
It’s quite bitty (and bobby?): there is no overarching theme or message beyond the obvious one that pronunciation, like vocabulary and even grammar, evolves, and that people are often upset by change. They decry new forms as objectively wrong, rather than stylistic issues that are not to their taste. Dr Johnson initially wanted to fix accent, but quickly realised that wasn’t possible.
The less obvious aspect is that pronunciation is always there, in every utterance, whereas the sort of grammatical and vocabulary changes people rile against are occasional intrusions.
Many Components
Pronunciation is more complex than you might initially think. There’s the anatomy of lips, teeth, tongue, palate, vocal chords, and more. We mix those to make sounds. Most English dialects have 24 consonant sounds and 20 vowel sounds, and the 20 vowels are represented by only 5 letters. No wonder it’s tricky.
Image source: https://albaenglish.co.uk/blog/improv...
Prosody has six aspects:
• Pitch (intonation)
• Loudness (including stress)
• Rate
• Rhythm
• Pause (defines boundaries)
• Timbre
Intonation and rhythm are the earliest linguistic features babies pick up. They have no direct linguistic content, but they are not without meaning. If you doubt the latter point, consider how changing the stress of a single word in a sentence can utterly change the meaning: In the garden was a man in a grey coat.
The BBC
The book is primarily about British pronunciation, and the BBC is important. It doesn’t introduce language change, but it reflects, spreads, and fosters it. For instance, the soap opera, EastEnders, is four 30-minute episodes a week, watched by nearly a third of the UK population! No wonder some of their East Londonidioms have spread.
In 1922, BBC radio consciously picked an accent, that came to be known as Received Pronunciation (RP) or BBC English, that would be universally understood. That accent spread, and was perceived as a prestige accent. It’s also sometimes called The Queen’s English, though her accent has changed dramatically over the decades, as a few minutes on YouTube, comparing Christmas Broadcasts, demonstrates.
The 1960s brought local radio, with local presenters, which was broadly accepted, or even welcomed. But in the 1980s, the BBC began to use more presenters with regional accents in national broadcasts, and complaints flooded in. Crystal studied them to create a top twenty. He was also shocked by the “intemperate language” - and the urgency implied by first class stamps.
Tum-te-Tum
People tend to default to alternating stressed and unstressed syllables, in pairs, hence doggie, rather than dog, and nana, rather than banana, for infants.
He suggests that’s why the increasing prevalence of US pronunciation of con-TRO-versy has gained popularity in the last fifty years. In another book, he also suggested that’s why split infinitives often feel right.
Character Names from Literature
A recurring theme is giving examples of characters from literature (especially Dickens) to illustrate the effects of particular sounds: plosives and approximants, for example.
Writers, especially poets, might also find it useful to be conscious of the contexts in which certain sounds work well: plosives for swearing, fricatives in alliteration, approximants in lullabies etc.
Gender
Apparently, women are usually at the forefront of pronunciation change, typically favouring prestige forms, whereas men favour local vernacular. That sounds like a sweeping generalisation, encompassing traditional stereotypes, but who am I to argue?
Intelligibility and Identity - Human and Not
The two main reasons for using language are to be understood and as a statement of identity, and Crystal says it’s issues with the latter that generate complaints. Identity relates to geography, culture, education, and class, but when I was heavily involved in grammar groups, it was perceived issues with intelligibility that was the main gripe (often by applying logic more appropriate to maths than living language).
If language, and especially accent, is about identity, what do we want our robots and AIs to sound like? Satnavs have long offered a choice of voices. Generally, people seem to want AIs to talk like them - but not so much so that they sound totally human (see Uncanny Valley).
This also presents difficulty for time travel dramas (he mentions Dr Who): how should people talk in the far past or far future?
Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation
Crystal’s son is an actor, and they have collaborated on research and performance of Shakespeare with Original Pronunciation (OP). It is barely mentioned in this book, but you can watch a ten minute Open University video, including the two of them saying the same lines in turn, one in RP and the other in OP: here.
In many respects, this book is typical Crystal: engaging, informative, and wearing its erudition very lightly. The chapters are short and punchy, interspersed with the odd quiz to help the reader understand and compare pronunciation, pull-out boxes of related anecdotes, all supported by comprehensive notes and index. But there is surprisingly little mention of IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), let alone a table of signs and symbols.
Although it’s good, it’s not as enjoyable as his others. It’s quite technical, without being at all difficult for a general reader. An objective 4*, with 3* for my level of interest and enjoyment.
It’s too niche a subject, and one that is not ideal for a printed book. It would work better as a vlog, interactive ebook, or by listening to it on audio alongside reading on the page. It was certainly tricky to read in public, as I found myself mouthing sounds, and often wanting to say things aloud.
Bits and Bobs
It’s quite bitty (and bobby?): there is no overarching theme or message beyond the obvious one that pronunciation, like vocabulary and even grammar, evolves, and that people are often upset by change. They decry new forms as objectively wrong, rather than stylistic issues that are not to their taste. Dr Johnson initially wanted to fix accent, but quickly realised that wasn’t possible.
The less obvious aspect is that pronunciation is always there, in every utterance, whereas the sort of grammatical and vocabulary changes people rile against are occasional intrusions.
Many Components
Pronunciation is more complex than you might initially think. There’s the anatomy of lips, teeth, tongue, palate, vocal chords, and more. We mix those to make sounds. Most English dialects have 24 consonant sounds and 20 vowel sounds, and the 20 vowels are represented by only 5 letters. No wonder it’s tricky.
Image source: https://albaenglish.co.uk/blog/improv...
Prosody has six aspects:
• Pitch (intonation)
• Loudness (including stress)
• Rate
• Rhythm
• Pause (defines boundaries)
• Timbre
Intonation and rhythm are the earliest linguistic features babies pick up. They have no direct linguistic content, but they are not without meaning. If you doubt the latter point, consider how changing the stress of a single word in a sentence can utterly change the meaning: In the garden was a man in a grey coat.
The BBC
The book is primarily about British pronunciation, and the BBC is important. It doesn’t introduce language change, but it reflects, spreads, and fosters it. For instance, the soap opera, EastEnders, is four 30-minute episodes a week, watched by nearly a third of the UK population! No wonder some of their East Londonidioms have spread.
In 1922, BBC radio consciously picked an accent, that came to be known as Received Pronunciation (RP) or BBC English, that would be universally understood. That accent spread, and was perceived as a prestige accent. It’s also sometimes called The Queen’s English, though her accent has changed dramatically over the decades, as a few minutes on YouTube, comparing Christmas Broadcasts, demonstrates.
The 1960s brought local radio, with local presenters, which was broadly accepted, or even welcomed. But in the 1980s, the BBC began to use more presenters with regional accents in national broadcasts, and complaints flooded in. Crystal studied them to create a top twenty. He was also shocked by the “intemperate language” - and the urgency implied by first class stamps.
Tum-te-Tum
People tend to default to alternating stressed and unstressed syllables, in pairs, hence doggie, rather than dog, and nana, rather than banana, for infants.
He suggests that’s why the increasing prevalence of US pronunciation of con-TRO-versy has gained popularity in the last fifty years. In another book, he also suggested that’s why split infinitives often feel right.
Character Names from Literature
A recurring theme is giving examples of characters from literature (especially Dickens) to illustrate the effects of particular sounds: plosives and approximants, for example.
Writers, especially poets, might also find it useful to be conscious of the contexts in which certain sounds work well: plosives for swearing, fricatives in alliteration, approximants in lullabies etc.
Gender
Apparently, women are usually at the forefront of pronunciation change, typically favouring prestige forms, whereas men favour local vernacular. That sounds like a sweeping generalisation, encompassing traditional stereotypes, but who am I to argue?
Intelligibility and Identity - Human and Not
The two main reasons for using language are to be understood and as a statement of identity, and Crystal says it’s issues with the latter that generate complaints. Identity relates to geography, culture, education, and class, but when I was heavily involved in grammar groups, it was perceived issues with intelligibility that was the main gripe (often by applying logic more appropriate to maths than living language).
If language, and especially accent, is about identity, what do we want our robots and AIs to sound like? Satnavs have long offered a choice of voices. Generally, people seem to want AIs to talk like them - but not so much so that they sound totally human (see Uncanny Valley).
This also presents difficulty for time travel dramas (he mentions Dr Who): how should people talk in the far past or far future?
Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation
Crystal’s son is an actor, and they have collaborated on research and performance of Shakespeare with Original Pronunciation (OP). It is barely mentioned in this book, but you can watch a ten minute Open University video, including the two of them saying the same lines in turn, one in RP and the other in OP: here.
April 19, 2024
Great read! David Crystal is brilliant at unravelling complex topics and organising everything neatly. Highly recommended!
Read
November 5, 2018Great read for any layman who wants to read in detail about English phonetics.
December 3, 2022
A must-read for English teachers and language enthusiasts
I am convinced that you can learn a language and _learn_ a language. The first option is valid and common: you master the grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation that are necessary for you, covering the most important areas for you. The more you speak, the more things you need to express - so your level increases.
And then there is _learning_ a language, as in "passionately consuming information and knowledge about this language, desperately trying to understand the way it works and evolves".
In the first case, language is a tool to facilitate communication. In the _learn_ case, it's a living creature that never ceases to amaze you.
When we learn languages for necessity, we don't usually dig too deep into its history, structure, and senses. But this book helps us, _learning_ enthusiasts, to do just that: uncover layers and layers of English history, features, and meanings.
Pronunciation is difficult. Especially in English, where everything sounds differently, and often there is little to no logic in the way a certain word sounds. Yet, when you start to read the book, you are determined to make it make sense.
And this book helps, covering the history of pronunciation, the essential features of accents, the way we perceive the world through sounds of English.
I truly believe that this book is a must-read for English language fans - and I hope that every English teacher is an enthusiast.
I am convinced that you can learn a language and _learn_ a language. The first option is valid and common: you master the grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation that are necessary for you, covering the most important areas for you. The more you speak, the more things you need to express - so your level increases.
And then there is _learning_ a language, as in "passionately consuming information and knowledge about this language, desperately trying to understand the way it works and evolves".
In the first case, language is a tool to facilitate communication. In the _learn_ case, it's a living creature that never ceases to amaze you.
When we learn languages for necessity, we don't usually dig too deep into its history, structure, and senses. But this book helps us, _learning_ enthusiasts, to do just that: uncover layers and layers of English history, features, and meanings.
Pronunciation is difficult. Especially in English, where everything sounds differently, and often there is little to no logic in the way a certain word sounds. Yet, when you start to read the book, you are determined to make it make sense.
And this book helps, covering the history of pronunciation, the essential features of accents, the way we perceive the world through sounds of English.
I truly believe that this book is a must-read for English language fans - and I hope that every English teacher is an enthusiast.
February 22, 2024
Coming into this I knew almost nothing about phonetics, specifically English phonetics: where and how are sounds produced, the linguistic terminology for these sounds (e.g., nasal, fricative, affricate, etc), the diversity of English dialects and accents, the sociolinguistics of pronunciation and the roles it plays in our daily lives as both a communication device and as an identity marker. Now I think I've better understanding of these things and will help me out should I choose to delve deeper.
As expected, the book is quite broad and thus it's not a treatise on English phonetics as you might find on a more academic text. Think of it as English phonetics for the layman, like you and me.
This is a great read but I think readers will be better served if they already have some knowledge of IPA, at least for the English sounds. I also recommend listening to the sounds of the IPA symbols as soon as he starts mentioning them. You can find them on Wikipedia or by searching for "English IPA pronunciation chart".
"Pronunciation is always there."
As expected, the book is quite broad and thus it's not a treatise on English phonetics as you might find on a more academic text. Think of it as English phonetics for the layman, like you and me.
This is a great read but I think readers will be better served if they already have some knowledge of IPA, at least for the English sounds. I also recommend listening to the sounds of the IPA symbols as soon as he starts mentioning them. You can find them on Wikipedia or by searching for "English IPA pronunciation chart".
"Pronunciation is always there."
December 28, 2017
Both entertaining and rigorous in scholarly terms, this is well-written and great fun to read. It's not primarily historical in approach, which I would have preferred, but still a good read for a non-expert.
February 23, 2018
This took off for me in the last third (but not to say that the first half isn’t worth it. It’s a clear and precise explanation of everything you need to know to really get it)
January 28, 2019
It's interesting but it feels rather perfunctory. It delves deeply into how words are pronounced but not so much about why people think it matters so much (maybe there isn't really that much to say).
December 25, 2019
This book is always engaging and caters to someone who has had no exposure to linguistics before. By the end of this book I have learnt the IPA symbols for English.
November 2, 2023
Very interesting
December 22, 2023
another slay from dave.
once again saved me in an all-nighter.
once again saved me in an all-nighter.
February 6, 2024
Informative, detailed, and accessible.
November 12, 2019
I chose this book for my reading challenge category ‘a book about a topic that fascinates you’ as I love anything to do with sounds, phonetics, sound change etc. I especially like David Crystal’s take on the subject so I knew reading an entire book wouldn’t be laborious. It would also be a good starter book to get me back into studying ready for the start of my PhD next month. An excellent refresher book, get my mind working again and hopefully get some good notes out of it too.
I usually love David Crystal’s style of writing. He has a way of making any topic seem fun and easy-going. However, he didn’t have his usual panache in this book, and I found it quite hard going. There were many sections I found myself skim reading as they were quite dull. Something I do a lot of with academic books but not usually with David Crystal!
More recently, I have noticed he is very stage acting and poem orientated, and this was very apparent in this book. He was obsessed with the choice authors make in regards to character’s names. Advising that they base their choices on the way different phonemes are perceived (among many other reasons). There were lots of examples, and I felt this was a little overdone. Sometimes it wasn’t clear what his point was. I felt like he was putting examples from well-known literature in just for the sake of it rather than using samples from every-day language that would be more relatable.
There is a good overview of all the phonetic symbols and of the speech organs and how we produce sound. However, I wouldn’t recommend this book to a beginner in the subject. Even though Crystal is aiming this book at the listeners that have written to him complaining to him about the English language. I think he wanted to explain with this book the varieties of English but somehow missed the mark. It was neither an introduction to phonetics nor a history of how our language has evolved. It wasn’t a story about pronunciation but more how stories use pronunciation. Somehow losing the way from the introductory chapters on the BBC complainers. It was like the book didn’t really know what it wanted to be and didn’t stick to the purpose that it was supposed to have.
So, in summary, I was very disappointed with this latest offering from Crystal. I did make a few notes that will come in handy in the future, and I did learn a few things. I was blown away with the pronunciation of Arkansas, for example! I’ve been saying this wrong my entire life. Admittedly I’ve probably only said it about twice, but still!
Thanks for reading! If you want to see more of my reviews visit www.pinkanddizzy.com
I usually love David Crystal’s style of writing. He has a way of making any topic seem fun and easy-going. However, he didn’t have his usual panache in this book, and I found it quite hard going. There were many sections I found myself skim reading as they were quite dull. Something I do a lot of with academic books but not usually with David Crystal!
More recently, I have noticed he is very stage acting and poem orientated, and this was very apparent in this book. He was obsessed with the choice authors make in regards to character’s names. Advising that they base their choices on the way different phonemes are perceived (among many other reasons). There were lots of examples, and I felt this was a little overdone. Sometimes it wasn’t clear what his point was. I felt like he was putting examples from well-known literature in just for the sake of it rather than using samples from every-day language that would be more relatable.
There is a good overview of all the phonetic symbols and of the speech organs and how we produce sound. However, I wouldn’t recommend this book to a beginner in the subject. Even though Crystal is aiming this book at the listeners that have written to him complaining to him about the English language. I think he wanted to explain with this book the varieties of English but somehow missed the mark. It was neither an introduction to phonetics nor a history of how our language has evolved. It wasn’t a story about pronunciation but more how stories use pronunciation. Somehow losing the way from the introductory chapters on the BBC complainers. It was like the book didn’t really know what it wanted to be and didn’t stick to the purpose that it was supposed to have.
So, in summary, I was very disappointed with this latest offering from Crystal. I did make a few notes that will come in handy in the future, and I did learn a few things. I was blown away with the pronunciation of Arkansas, for example! I’ve been saying this wrong my entire life. Admittedly I’ve probably only said it about twice, but still!
Thanks for reading! If you want to see more of my reviews visit www.pinkanddizzy.com
Read
July 15, 2018When you stop and think about pronunciation it’s very easy to break into a verse of “You sing potato and I sing potahto.” The academic, linguist, author and broadcaster, David Crystal certainly appreciates this. He has after all released the informative and scholarly guide: Sounds Appealing: The Passionate Story of English Pronunciation.
Over the years Crystal has written many books. This latest one, devoted to pronunciation, is the fifth in a series where he examines the different facets of the English language, for example: spelling, grammar and punctuation. It’s clear as crystal (sorry, I couldn’t resist) that this man has a love of the English language, as well as its history and etymology.
Communication can be an interesting beast. It’s often not so much about what we’re saying, but how we actually say it. Using different inflections and emphasising different words, or elements of words, can change their meaning. In this book, Crystal uses the example of a woman who goes to see the doctor about her husband because the latter is impotent. However, the two experience a communication breakdown, because the way she pronounces the word makes the Doctor initially believe that she is saying her partner is important!
This book is very UK-centric in its examples and does get very technical at times. It uses the phonetic alphabet and spelling but for those unacquainted with, or unaccustomed to reading such things, it can make for some difficult reading. This is especially the case when Crystal is making a point on a subtlety in a particular accent. This text would perhaps actually work better as an audiobook, that way Crystal could have made his points and known that the reader would truly get it. As it stands, Crystal does his best with the medium he is operating in, by offering up lots of examples and anecdotes. He breaks things down into short chapters and reinforces the knowledge he is conveying with quizzes.
It is fascinating to read about how physiology plays its part in shaping our accents. Crystal describes human anatomy and the interplay between our lips, tongue, teeth, vocal chords and palate in shaping our words. It’s incredible that the final product – our accents – can convey aspects of our identity like where we come from, our class and level of education, etc. One need look no further than My Fair Lady and witness the change in Eliza Doolittle to see and appreciate this in action.
Sounds Appealing is an interesting work for those most passionate about the English language. It will make you stop and think about accents and we can guarantee you won’t look at words in quite the same way ever again. In Sounds Appealing, David Crystal is a learned and passionate guide through some tricky subject matters and he leaves readers with a newfound knowledge and appreciation of the great and ever-evolving English language.
Over the years Crystal has written many books. This latest one, devoted to pronunciation, is the fifth in a series where he examines the different facets of the English language, for example: spelling, grammar and punctuation. It’s clear as crystal (sorry, I couldn’t resist) that this man has a love of the English language, as well as its history and etymology.
Communication can be an interesting beast. It’s often not so much about what we’re saying, but how we actually say it. Using different inflections and emphasising different words, or elements of words, can change their meaning. In this book, Crystal uses the example of a woman who goes to see the doctor about her husband because the latter is impotent. However, the two experience a communication breakdown, because the way she pronounces the word makes the Doctor initially believe that she is saying her partner is important!
This book is very UK-centric in its examples and does get very technical at times. It uses the phonetic alphabet and spelling but for those unacquainted with, or unaccustomed to reading such things, it can make for some difficult reading. This is especially the case when Crystal is making a point on a subtlety in a particular accent. This text would perhaps actually work better as an audiobook, that way Crystal could have made his points and known that the reader would truly get it. As it stands, Crystal does his best with the medium he is operating in, by offering up lots of examples and anecdotes. He breaks things down into short chapters and reinforces the knowledge he is conveying with quizzes.
It is fascinating to read about how physiology plays its part in shaping our accents. Crystal describes human anatomy and the interplay between our lips, tongue, teeth, vocal chords and palate in shaping our words. It’s incredible that the final product – our accents – can convey aspects of our identity like where we come from, our class and level of education, etc. One need look no further than My Fair Lady and witness the change in Eliza Doolittle to see and appreciate this in action.
Sounds Appealing is an interesting work for those most passionate about the English language. It will make you stop and think about accents and we can guarantee you won’t look at words in quite the same way ever again. In Sounds Appealing, David Crystal is a learned and passionate guide through some tricky subject matters and he leaves readers with a newfound knowledge and appreciation of the great and ever-evolving English language.
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