Phonological Knowledge: Conceptual and Empirical Issues

Phonological Knowledge addresses central questions in the foundations of phonology and locates them within their larger linguistic and philosophical context. Phonology is a discipline grounded in observable facts, but like any discipline it rests on conceptual assumptions. This book investigates the nature, status, and acquisition of phonological knowledge: it enquires into the conceptual and empirical foundations of phonology, and considers the relation of phonology to the theory of language and other capacities of mind. The authors address a wide range of interrelated questions, the most central of which is this: is phonological knowledge different from linguistic knowledge in general? They offer responses to this question from a variety of perspectives, each of which has consequences for how phonology and language are conceived. Each also involves a host of further questions concerning the modularity of mind and of language; whether phonology should be included in the language faculty; the nature-convention debate; the content of phonological elements and its relation to phonetic substance; the implications of sign languages for phonology; whether functional and variationist considerations are relevant in phonology; how phonological knowledge arises; and, not least, the data and methods appropriate for phonological inquiry. Phonological Knowledge is an important contribution to the most fundamental issues in phonology and the understanding of language. It will interest researchers in and advanced students of phonology, linguistic theory, and philosophy of language.In addition to the editors, the authors are Mary Beckman, Silvain Bromberger, Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Paul Foulkes, Mark Hale, Morris Hallé, John Harris, Harry van der Hulst, Robert Ladd, G. Lindsey, Scott Myers, Janet Pierrehumbert, Charles Reiss, Shelley Velleman, Marilyn Vihman, and Linda Wheeldon.By relating foundational questions of phonology to their larger linguistic, cognitive, and philosophical contexts this book will generate interest not only among phonologists and their advanced students, but also among all those concerned to understand the forms and functions of language.

Table of Contents:
1: Noel Burton-Roberts, Philip Carr, and Gerard Docherty: Introduction 2: Sylvain Bromberger and Morris Halle: The Ontology of Phonology 3: Noel Burton-Roberts: Where and What is Phonology? A representational perspective 4: Philip Carr: Scientific Realism, Sociophonetic Variation, and Innate Endowments in Phonology 5: Gerard Docherty and Paul Foulkes: Speaker, Speech, and Knowledge of Sounds 6: Jennifer Fitzpatrick and Linda Wheeldon: Phonology and Phonetics in Psycholinguistic Models of Speech Perception 7: Mark Hale and Charles Reiss: Phonology as Cognition 8: John Harris and Geoff Lindsey: Vowel Patterns in Mind and Sound 9: Scott Myers: Boundary Disputes: The distinction between phonetic and phonological sound patterns 10: Janet Pierrehumbert, Mary Beckman, Bob Ladd: Conceptual Foundations of Phonology as a Laboratory Science 11: Harry van der Hulst: Modularity and Modality in Phonology 12: Marilyn Vihman and Shelley Velleman: Phonetics and the Origin of Phonology

About the Author :
Noel Burton-Roberts is Professor of English Language and Linguistics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. His interests include semantics, pragmatics, the architecture of the language faculty, the nature/status of phonology, and sign theory. He is the author of 'The Limits to Debate: A revised theory of semantic presupposition' (1989) and 'Analysing Sentences' (1997). Philip Carr is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of English at the University Paul Valery (Montpellier III), France. His interests include phonology and the philosophy of linguistics. He is the author of 'Linguistics Realities' (1990), 'Phonology' (1993), and 'English Phonetics and Phonology' (1999). Gerard Docherty is Senior Lecturer, Department of Speech, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. His interests include phonetics, phonological variation, and disordered speech production. He is the author of 'The Timing of Voicing in British English Obstruents' (1992), and co-editor of 'Urban Voices: Phonological variation and change in the British Isles' (2000).

Review :
`highly comprehensive Introduction' Linguist List 12.1568