Sound Change

Description

Drawing examples from a range of world languages, this textbook introduces the ways in which speech sounds become different over time. It explores how we produce and hear particular sounds and how overall word shapes and the pronunciation of individual words change. The roles of phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax, traditional formal models and recent exemplar-based work in sound change are all examined. In covering both structural and societal issues, the book integrates different kinds of historical evidence and different theories into a coherent understanding of the full process of sound change. Title page Copyright Contents Figures and Tables Series Editors’ Preface Preface: What We’re Doing Here and Why Part 1 The background 1 Introduction: What is Sound Change and How Do We Understand It? 2 The History of the Field and Why You Need to Understand It Part 2 Starting points 3 Segmental Sound Change 4 Sound Change Beyond the Segment 5 Evidence for Sound Change Part 3 Where sound changes 6 The Learner 7 Society Part 4 Sound change in gramma 8 Phonetics and Sound Change 9 Phonology and Sound Change 10 Sound Change Beyond the Sound System Part 5 The bigger picture 11 Conclusion: Toward a Synthesis References Index of Languages and Families