1st Edition

American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice

By Paul Carley, Inger Mees Copyright 2020
    272 Pages 137 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    272 Pages 137 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice provides an accessible introduction to basic articulatory phonetics for students of American English. Built around an extensive collection of practice materials, this book teaches the pronunciation of modern standard American English to intermediate and advanced learners worldwide.

    This book:

    • provides an up-to-date description of the pronunciation of modern American English;

    • demonstrates the use of each English phoneme with a selection of high-frequency words,

    both alone and in context in sentences, idiomatic phrases and dialogues;

    • provides examples and practice material on commonly confused sounds, including illustrative pronunciation diagrams;

    • is supported by a companion website featuring complete audio recordings of practice material to check your pronunciation against;

    • can be used not only for studying pronunciation in the classroom but also for independent practice.

    American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice is essential reading for any student studying this topic.

    English phonemic transcription key

    Phonetic symbols and diacritics

    The International Phonetic Alphabet

    Preface

    Acknowledgements

    1 Basic concepts

    2 Consonants

    3 Practice: individual consonants

    4 Practice: consonant contrasts

    5 Vowels

    6 Practice: individual vowels

    7 Practice: vowel contrasts

    8 Weak vowels and weak forms

    9 Practice: weak vowels and weak forms

    10 Consonant clusters

    11 Practice: consonant clusters

    12 Connected speech

    Suggested reading

    Index

    Biography

    Paul Carley is Lecturer in English at Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, Jeddah, and has held posts at the University of Leicester, the University of Bedfordshire, and at the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. He is a regular lecturer at the UCL Summer Course in English Phonetics.

    Inger M. Mees is Associate Professor in the Department of Management, Society and Communication at the Copenhagen Business School. She has formerly held lectureships at the universities of Leiden and Copenhagen. She is on the academic staff of the UCL Summer Course in English Phonetics.

    "An excellent complement to the authors’ volume on General British English. The sections on phonetic theory are wonderfully concise and precise, and the practice material with audio recordings will prove extremely useful to any student wanting to improve their American English pronunciation."

    Christian Jensen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

    "This much-needed up-to-date description of General American phonetics with its comprehensive practice material will be welcomed by all students of American English. A fantastic achievement."

    Hiroshi Miura, Senshu University, Japan

    "The authors have succeeded in presenting complex material in a way that renders it accessible to beginners. The book’s solid theoretical basis and the abundance of practice material make it a must buy for both teachers and students. I’m sure I will use it in my teaching, and I’ll definitely be referring my students to this informative material."

    Petr Rösel, University of Mainz, Germany