English Sound Structure - Softcover

Harris, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0631187413 ISBN 13: 9780631187417

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 1994

Synopsis

This book is as much about phonological theory as about the phonology of English. It is primarily designed as a university-level text for use on intermediate and advanced courses, but it will be of value to anyone interested in recent theoretical developments in the field.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

This book is as much about phonological theory as about the phonology of English. It is primarily designed as a university-level text for use on intermediate and advanced courses, but it will be of value to anyone interested in recent theoretical developments in the field.

The book is virtually unique among theoretical treatments of English phonology in drawing on material from a wide range of dialects. This orientation derives from the view that phonological differences between grammars, no less than syntactic differences, are constrained by universal principles and occur within fixed bounds defined by a small number of parameters. Against this background, this book analyses a wide range of variables in English which offer revealing insights into the limits of phonological variation. The reader is introduced to recent innovations in non-linear theory, particularly those concerning the internal composition of segments and their organization in constituent structure. Phenomena discussed include vowel length, syllabic structure, stress, consonantal weakening and vowel reduction and syncope.

About the Author:

John Harris is Reader in Linguistics at University College London. He is author of Phonological Variation and Change (1985).

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0631187413
• ISBN 13: 9780631187417
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 332