Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35.290

AUTHOR: Jette G. Hansen Edwards
TITLE: The Sounds of English Around the World
SUBTITLE: An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Asmaa Shehata

SUMMARY

“The Sounds of English Around the World” is a new book by Jette G. Hansen Edwards about the English language. The main objective is to provide students with an exhaustive overview of the sounds of English by offering the phonetic and phonological characteristics of many English varieties, such as American, British, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, African, and Asian Englishes. The book includes nine main chapters plus appendices and a glossary.

In the introductory chapter, Hansen Edwards starts by clarifying the differences between three main terms: accent, dialect, and variety. While accent is defined as the way speech sounds are produced, a dialect is referred to as a broader term that encompasses more than just pronunciation; it also includes other aspects of language like grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. However, a variety is defined as a language spoken in a particular country or region such as Japanese English in Japan. The purpose of the book is then introduced, which is to provide readers with training in English phonology and phonetics, expose them to different English varieties, and raise their awareness of their own English accents. Next, the book's salient features are discussed, such as its acoustic description of speech sounds and its offering of a vast database of English speech samples from speakers worldwide on the accompanying website. To assist readers in gauging their level of understanding, the author included comprehension questions at the end of the chapter.

Chapter 2, “The History and Spread of English Worldwide”, presents the emergence and development of the English language at the beginning of the chapter. The origins of English are traced back to Indo-European, followed by the development of Old English, the Middle English period, which emphasizes the influence of Anglo-Norman French on Middle English, as well as the development of English literature, with a focus on Chaucer's writings. Next, the spread of the English language throughout the world is then addressed. The chapter concludes with a summary of the terms that define the varieties of English that will be covered in the volume.
Chapter 3, “The Vowels of English”, initially describes the phonetic traits that distinguish vowels from consonants, including height, advancement, and rounding. Then, vowel inventories in many languages that influence English variations are examined, such as Spanish and Cantonese, which impact Puerto Rican English and Hong Kong English, respectively. The concepts of phoneme, allophone, and phone are next explained in order to clarify the term phonology and the phonological laws governing it within English varieties; the types of vowels in various English vernaculars are also presented.

Chapter 4, “Rhoticity in Varieties of English”, focuses on examining rhoticity that is one of the main phonological characteristics distinguishing different varieties of English including American, British, Australian and New Zealand English. The purpose is to shed light on rhoticity — the production of the ‘r’ sound after a vowel in English words — explaining how it is produced and measured. The chapter describes the various ways that rhoticity is articulated in different English vernaculars, including bunched /r/, alveolar trill, postalveolar approximant, alveolar tap or flap, and uvular fricative. A detailed discussion of rhoticity throughout English language history is provided as well.

In the same vein, Chapter 5, “The Consonants of English”, addresses how different varieties of English have different consonant inventories. The features of consonants are covered first, with an emphasis on how consonant sounds are categorized according to their place of articulation, manner, and voicing. Through cross-linguistic inventory examination, the chapter also assists readers in comprehending which sounds, and consonant traits are most prevalent across languages. After that, the author introduces the consonant phonemes shared by several English dialects, discussing any variations in these inventories that are pertinent to the topic of English consonants. Additionally included is a quick synopsis of how English consonants are spelled nowadays. The phonological principles governing consonant variation in English variants are then examined. In the chapter's last portion, readers are led through tasks that aim to assess their comprehension of the chapter's material and provide an examination of their personal English consonant inventory.

Chapter 6, “English Syllable Structure” shifts from individual vowel and consonant sounds to suprasegmentals, or sound units above the segment level. Initially, a syllable is presented as a structural unit for a sound sequence consisting of three elements: an onset, a nucleus, and a coda. After that, syllable inventories across languages are examined, with an emphasis on the languages that impact English variations. Next, the chapter looks at syllable inventories from several languages, paying particular attention to those that have an impact on English dialects. The syllable structure of English is then briefly reviewed, with an emphasis on the ways in which different varieties of English differ from one another. In the last part, readers are directed through tasks meant to assess their comprehension of the chapter's material and assess their personal inventory of English syllables.

In Chapter 7, “English Stress and Rhythm”, we learn about the terms of rhythm and stress in connection to languages and various English varieties. First, the term stress is defined both acoustically and articulatorily. Next, stress is examined at the syllable level in various English dialects, with a particular emphasis on strong and weak English syllables and the link between stress and strong and weak syllables. Following an analysis of stress-and syllable-timing in several languages as well as English varieties, the topic of word stress in English variations is discussed. Rhythm and pitch accent are next introduced. To assist readers to comprehend the numerous stress and rhythm patterns that occur throughout English variations, the author then presents information about the role of pitch accent and stress in several substrate languages for different variants of English, such as Spanish and Malay. Readers are invited to work through activities in the chapter's last part to see how well they comprehend the material.

Chapter 8, “Intonation in Varieties of English”, begins with a definition of intonation both acoustically and articulatorily, emphasizing its relationship to pitch and tone. After that, it gives a general review of intonation analysis techniques, such as acoustic analysis and the commonly used tone and break index system. The sentence intonation and pitch accent patterns of Standard Southern British English (SSBE) and General American English (GAmE) are then analyzed, together with the international systems in several English varieties, to give a foundation for examining additional English variations. The intonation and pitch accent patterns from many English types are also explored, along with the pitch range of each variety. This chapter delves deeper into two worldwide phenomena: creaky voice and the High Rising Terminal on declarative statements or uptake. Exercises to test understanding of the content are included to help readers gain a deeper understanding of the variety of English accent patterns and intonation.

The focus of Chapter 9, “Investigating English Phonetics and Phonology”, is on the definition of accent and how it has evolved and been applied historically and geographically. A selection of websites and databases featuring audio samples, films, and television shows that introduce viewers to various English dialects are offered alongside resources for a deeper exploration of English and phonology. The chapter also covers factors to consider when gathering data, such as recording and analyzing speech using free tools like Audacity and Praat. The advantages and disadvantages of using word lists, reading passages, and conversational data—among the several forms of data that can be gathered for phonetic and phonological analysis—are highlighted. Exercises designed to assess comprehension of the material are included in the last section.

EVALUATION

This textbook is incredibly knowledgeable on the phonology and phonetics of the English language and its variants. Anyone interested in linguistics, especially those interested in the phonological development of English historically, will find the author's treatment of these subjects to be extremely deep and intricate. The general audience and language adherents may understand the style, despite the intellectual nature of the content. Along with its obvious academic value, this makes the book enjoyable to read because the author takes the reader on a journey of discovery regarding English pronunciation. In addition to providing significant historical context about the language's vowels, consonants, syllable structure, stress, rhythm, and intonation, the book comprises an abundance of illustrative materials, such as exercises, pictures, and audios, that display the language's global diversity.

Apart from its extensive theoretical coverage, each chapter includes additional material with questions for pre-reading and chapter-ending tasks, such as discussion questions and analytical questions for pronunciation, which guides readers through a revision of the chapter's content. Although not specifically addressed in the book, cross-linguistic analysis of the variety of World Englishes could be beneficial for some future research. Many audio recordings featuring speakers of various accents are included with the book. Through these recordings, readers/listeners can compare their own speech patterns with those of others and become familiar with accents that may be unfamiliar to them.

You can read the book cover to cover or just parts of it, depending on your needs and areas of interest in research. In this sense, the index at the end of the book offers valuable guidance. The chapters in the book might become stand-alone reading assignments, and the book itself might be required reading for teacher preparation courses that concentrate on English instruction. Overall, this is an interesting read and a much-needed addition to the field.

REFERENCES

Braber, N. and Robinson, J. (2018). East Midlands English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Crystal, D. (2019). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Eherhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., and Fenning, C. D. (2020). Ethnologue: languages of the world (23rd ed.): www.ethnologue.com.
Esposito, C., and Khan, S. U. D. (2020). The cross-linguistic patterns of phonation types. Language and Linguistics Compass, 14(12), 1-26.
Gussenhoven, C. (2020). The Oxford Handbook of language prosody. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Asmaa Shehata is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Mississippi. Her research interests include second language phonology with a particular focus on cross-language speech perception and production.