Sounds in Dialects and Languages: An Introduction to Phonology

Phonology is a subject of linguistics and a discipline of language. It encompasses the study of the sounds of that language and its linguistic units. This book entitled, "Sounds in Dialects and Languages" has been designed to add to the knowledge of the researchers, scholars and the students of this branch of linguistics to enlighten them with its basic concepts and with their applications in day-to-day life. The book introduces the readers to several aspects of the sounds of the English language and its various dialects. It sheds light on the characteristics and intricate nuances of English Phonology and its sound system. The book also enlightens the readers with the physics of sound. It explains the concept of the propagation of sounds, resonance, decibels, and the scale of the sounds in English. It also emphasizes various other factors affecting its pronunciation, the phonological influence on phonetic change, phonemic incidence, and targets of phonetic implementation. Furthermore, the book sheds light on the concept of varieties of English and various dialects of English using the IPA phonetic system of the language. It also talks about the dialect of "standard" American English (AE), its varieties, and the phonetic concepts the languages other than English. Therefore, for the undergraduates, this concise and thoroughly researched book serves as handy reference material on linguistics. It not only gives students the concepts they need to comprehend the fundamentals of the sound system of the language and its various dialects but also introduces them to the types of reasoning and argumentation that are common in the discipline.