Language permeates human interaction, culture, behavior, and thought. The Foundations of Modern Linguistics Series focuses on current research in the nature of language. Linguistics as a discipline has undergone radical change within the last decade. Questions raised by today's linguists are not necessarily those asked previously by traditional grammarians or by structural linguists. Most of the available introductory texts on linguistics, having been published several years ago, cannot be expected to portray the colorful contemporary scene.
This collection offers a fairly exhaustive presentation of current day approaches to the phonotactics or syllabic organization of words as well as a rich display of the syllabic organization of some 20 languages. with respect to the views we find adherents of onset-rhyme models, using the approach of government phonology or "X-bar" models, and mora models. All contributors adopt a constraint-based approach, either in the context of models that appeal to language-specific constraints ranking (such as in Optimality Theory) or models that use inviolable constraints, i.e. Firthian-declarative phonology and government-based analyses.
The architecture of the human language faculty has been one of the main foci of the linguistic research of the last half century. This branch of linguistics, broadly known as Generative Grammar, is concerned with the formulation of explanatory formal accounts of linguistic phenomena with the ulterior goal of gaining insight into the properties of the 'language organ'. The series comprises high quality monographs and collected volumes that address such issues. The topics in this series range from phonology to semantics, from syntax to information structure, from mathematical linguistics to studies of the lexicon.
This is a general discussion of the phonology of English within the frameworks of lexical, metrical, and prosodic phonology. It not only presents a synthesis of current approaches but also reconciles their discrepancies and presents critical commentary. There is a discussion of current theories, segment and syllable structure, stress, and prosodic categories and their role in determining the application of segmental rules. Two chapters discuss lexical phonology as divided into a cyclic and a postcyclic stratum, while the final chapter discusses postlexical phonology and some other approaches.
Accessible, succinct, and includes numerous student-friendly features, this introductory textbook offers an exceptional foundation to the field for those who are coming to it for the first time.
Provides an ideal first course book in phonology,
Developed and tested in the classroom through years of experience and use
Emphasizes analysis of phonological data, placing this in its scientific context, and explains the relevant methodology
Guides students through the larger questions of what phonological patterns reveal about language
Includes numerous course-friendly features, including multi-part exercises and annotated suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter
