This textbook introduces the main units and concepts you require to
describe speech sounds accurately. By working through the book and the
various exercises included, you will come to understand the need for a
dedicated system of description and transcription for speech sounds, and
for a degree of phonological abstraction to support our understanding of
the behaviour of sounds in particular languages and varieties. You will
learn to carry out elementary, broad phonetic transcription, and be able
to establish contrastive vowel and consonant systems for your own
varieties and to express simple generalisations reflecting the
productive and predictable patterns of English sounds. At the end of the
book there is a section guiding you through some of the exercises and
there is also a detailed glossary which will be useful for assignments
or revision during exams.