How and why do language changes begin; how and why do they spread; and how can they ultimately be explained? This new textbook sets out to answer these questions in a clear and helpful way which will be accessible to all students with an elementary knowledge of linguistics. In the first half of the [...]

Introduces the basic tools and concepts necessary for the outline description of English phonological systems and processes. By working through the book and the various exercises included, students should come to understand the need for such elements as a degree of phonological abstraction.[...]