Synopses & Reviews
Catford's unique interactive approach to the study of phonetics leads readers to explore the entire range of human sounds through a series of introspective experiments carried out in their own vocal tracts, proceeding systematically from familiar vocal postures and articulations to new and unknown ones. By actually articulating sounds, and attending to the motor sensations they produce, the reader acquires a deep, personal understanding of the principles of phonetic classification. Informed throughout by recent research in aerodynamics and acoustics, this book will interest a wide range of students and teachers of languages, linguistics, speech therapy, and anthropology.
Review
"My favorite phonetics textbook--the most systematic account of articulation I know of."--Kenneth L. Miner, University of Kansas
"Unquestionably the finest elementary text in phonetics to appear since Abercrombie's Elements of General Phonetics and Ladefoged's A Course in Phonetics."--Dale Woolley, University of Illinois at Chicago
"Anyone without access to a good articulatory phonetician will find much in this volume, and those teaching will want to incorporate many of the exercises into their instruction."--Studies in Second Language Acquisition
"A very welcome book by a distiguished phonetician. [Catford] couples his vast experience in fieldwork with his knowledge of the acoustics and physiology of speech to give clear guidance in the production of speech-sounds."--Arthur Abramson, University of Connecticut