This thesis investigates some morphophonemic alternations in English vocalic and consonantal phonology. The alternations include three types of phonological phenomena: vowel quality discrepancies, Cluster Simplification, and Voicing Assimilation. This thesis focuses on why these phenomena occur. The goal of this work is to explore the motivating forces of these phenomena and present a principled account of the morphophonemic alternations. Unlike studies in the previous classical generative approach, this work appeals to functional principles fully integrated into a formal phonological analysis. To present explicit formal analyses of the three kinds of phenomena, I adopt the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993, McCarthy and Prince 1993a, b). Major issues in English vocalic phonology concern the tenseness discrepancy and height discrepancy between underived words and derived words. The tenseness discrepancy is attested in phenomena like CiV Tensing, Trisyllabic Laxing, CC Laxing, and "-ic" Laxing. These phenomena are explained in terms of prosodic structure. The height discrepancy, which since SPE has been covered by a rule of English Vowel Shift, is accounted for within the "principled" Optimality Theory approach, one which provides an explicit role for functional principles in a formal phonological analysis. Cluster Simplification observed in nasal-consonant clusters, and voicing agreement in consonant clusters are also treated in a more explanatory way within the principled Optimality Theory approach. The implications of this study of English phonology are that apparently English-specific phenomena turn out, not surprisingly, to be explainable in terms of universal well-formedness constraint, and that functional considerations serve to justify those constraints.

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,3, University of Bamberg, course: Proseminar: English Varieties, language: English, abstract: 1. Introduction Even to non-native speakers of the English language it is in most cases an easy task to differentiate between British and American native speakers by listening to their pronunciation. In this term paper the most characteristic phonological features of American English will be named and explained and an overview of the variety of dialects within the United States will be provided. This can be done best by using British Standard English – also known as Received Pronunciation (RP) – as reference accent and pointing out the differences to American English. 2. General American However, it is hard to work with the term American English when doing a phonological analysis of American speech since it covers a broad spectrum of different dialects. For this reason the term General American (GA), which is widely used and preferred by most linguists today, will be introduced and worked with. General American can be seen as the Standard English of North America, but in contrast to Received Pronunciation, it is not defined by social reputation or a specific geographical origin. Throughout the United States one can not really find a socially preferred accent that is commonly recognized as the standard pronunciation. There have been several different approaches to defining a Standard English for the USA and in this paper General American will be used in means of a range of accents that do not exhibit any of the North-Eastern or Southern features which “are perceived as regional by the majority of American speakers.” One has to keep in mind that GA is not “a single and totally homogeneous accent. But since its internal variation is mainly a matter of differences in the phonetic realizations of a system of phonemes that is by and large shared by all GA speakers, the generalization expressed in the notion ‘General American’ is useful in phonological terms.”

This book covers the historical development of the English phonological system from its earliest reconstructed and recorded forms to its most recent variations.

This introduction to the phonology of present-day English offers a systematic and detailed discussion of the features shared by three varieties of English: "General American," Southern British "Received Pronunciation" and "Scottish Standard English".

The new edition of the leading textbook for English applied phonetics and phonology A leading textbook for English Phonetics and Phonology, the fourth edition of Applied English Phonology is an accessible, authoritative introduction to the English sound system. Providing clear explanations and numerous illustrative examples, this new edition has been fully updated with the latest research and references. Detailed discussions of fundamental concepts of applied English phonology cover phonetic elements, phonemics, English consonants and vowels, stress and intonation, structural factors in second language phonology, and much more. Designed for students and professionals in both theoretical and applied linguistics, education, and communication sciences and disorders, this textbook contains new material throughout, including a new chapter introducing typical phonological development, patterns of simplification, and disordered phonology. Expanded sections explore topics such as contracted forms, issues in consonant and vowel transcription conventions, and regional dialects of American English. The essential introduction to phonetics and phonology, this textbook: Presents new and revised exercises, references, and recommended readings Covers developmental disorders relevant to the field of speech pathology Includes end-of-chapter passages that help students check their phonetic transcriptions Features an enhanced companion website which contains instructor resources and sound files for transcription exercises Written by an internationally recognized scholar and educator, Applied English Phonology, Fourth Edition is essential reading for anyone in applied phonetics and phonology courses, as well as students and practitioners in areas of language and linguistics, TESOL, and communication sciences and disorders.

This book advocates a new approach to pronunciation teaching, in which the goal is mutual intelligibility among non-native speakers, rather than imitating native speakers. It will be of interest to all teachers of English as an International Language, especially Business English. It proposes a basic core of phonological teaching, with controversial suggestions for what should be included.

This volume is a collection of 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular issue that is crucial to our understanding of the way learners acquire, learn, and use an L2 sound system. In addition, it spans both theory and application in L2 phonology. The book is divided into three parts, with each section unified by broad thematic content: Part I, “Theoretical Issues and Frameworks in L2 Phonology,” lays the groundwork for examining L2 phonological acquisition. Part II, “Second Language Speech Perception and Production,” examines these two aspects of L2 speech in more detail. Finally, Part III, “Technology, Training, and Curriculum,” bridges the gap between theory and practice. Each chapter examines theoretical frameworks, major research findings (both classic and recent), methodological issues and choices for conducting research in a particular area of L2 phonology, and major implications of the research findings for more general models of language acquisition and/or pedagogy.

The Phonology of English introduces the subject from an Optimality-Theoretic perspective. Written by a high-profile American phonologist, the book presents an analysis of new generalizations about the surface shapes of English words. It will not only be the most up to date introduction to English phonology, but will also provide the clearest available account of Optimality Theory. Its combination of accessibility, originality and clear analysis make this essential reading for all those interested in the sounds of English words and some of the latest developments in linguistics theory. - ;The Phonology of English offers a new approach to English phonology. It focuses on the prosody of the language, i.e. syllable and foot structure, and does so from an optimality-theoretic (OT) perspective. The focus is on surface distributional regularities and the results presented are based on extensive searches through various computerized lexicons. The outcome is a number of new generalizations about the phonology of English, along with confirmation of some familiar regularities. All of these empirical results are discussed in detail and presented in extensive charts with a plethora of examples. The Phonology of English also offers a unique OT analysis. This provides a detailed introduction to the intricacies of the theory as applied to a significant amount of data. A number of important theoretical proposals are developed in this model, and the analysis presents the idea that certain complex constraints and their ranking can be derived in restricted ways from more basic constraints. In addition, the book also develops the idea that syllables of English can contain from zero to three moras. It is suggested that the phonology of English only makes sense if partial morphemes of the cranberry sort are licensed more widely. The book is thus intended as a detailed presentation of novel empirical results about the sound system of English, along with important theoretical results about phonological theory. -

The second edition of the popular English Phonetics and Phonology textbook has been extensively updated and expanded to offer greater flexibility for teachers and increased support for non-native speakers studying the sound systems of English. An ideal introduction to the study of the sound systems of English, designed for those with no previous knowledge of the subject Second edition now rigorously updated and expanded to reflect feedback from existing students and to increase support for non-native speakers of English Benefits from a useful introduction to articulatory phonetics, along with coverage of the main aspects of the phonological structure of present-day English Features a completely new chapter on the relationship between English spelling and pronunciation, extended coverage of intonation, and extensive revisions to sections on rhythm, word stress, intonation and varieties of English worldwide Will include invaluable chapter-by-chapter exercises, linked to sound files available on the accompanying website at www.wiley.com/go/carrphonetics (available upon publication)