Underlying the apparent diversity shown by thousands of mutually incomprehensible languages of the world, there is a remarkable, elegant and principled unity in the way that these languages exploit the phonetic resources of speech. It is these principles that Professor Laver sets out to describe in this major new textbook. Assuming no previous knowledge of the subject, it is designed for readers who wish to pursue the study of phonetics from an initial to an advanced stage, equipping them with the necessary foundations for independent research. The book moves from a discussion of general concepts to a total of eleven chapters on phonetic classification, and it includes discussion of other issues such as the relationship between phonetics and phonology. There are illustrations from over 500 of the world's languages. Principles of Phonetics will be required reading for all serious students of speech and language.
Introduction; Part I. General Concepts: 1. The semiotic framework; 2. The relationship between phonetics and phonology; 3. Accent, dialect and language; Part II. The Anayltical Framework: 4. The phonetic analysis of speech; 5. The architecture of phonetic classification; Part III. Initiation and Phonotation: 6. Airstream mechanisms; 7. Phonation; Part IV. Linear Segmental Analysis: 8. Stop articulations; 9. Fricative articulations; 10. Resonant articulations; 11. Multiple articulations; Part V. Articulatory Co-ordination and Phonetic Settings: 12. Inter-segmental co-ordinations; 13. Phonetic similarity and multi-segmental settings; Part VI. Temporal, Prosodic and Metrical Analysis: 14. The temporal organization of speech; segmental duration; 15. The prosodic organization of speech: pitch and loudness; 16. The metrical organization of speech: stress, syllable weight, prominence and rhythm; 17. The temporal organization of speech; continuity and rate; Part VII. Principles of Transcription: 18. Types of transcription; Part VIII; Conclusion: 19. Evaluating general phonetic theory; Envoi; References; Appendices; Index of names; Subject index.
