The Phonetics and Phonology of Approximants by Ball, Martin J.;

Long description:

Approximants are an especially interesting group of consonants. They consist of four separate types, traditionally termed lateral approximants, rhotic (or central) approximants, semi-vowels, and frictionless continuants. The contributors to The Phonetics and Phonology of Approximants examine the phonetics and phonology of this diverse group of sounds and also look at the question of whether they should, in fact, be grouped together.

Part 1 of this four-part volume contains seven chapters dealing with the general characteristics of approximants: their articulatory features, acoustics, and perception, together with phonological and sociolinguistic aspects, concluding with surveys of approximant systems in the languages of the world and means of transcribing them phonetically. Part 2 has five chapters examining the acquisition of approximants (in Maltese, Spanish, Portuguese, and English) and the effects of speech disorders of different types on the production of these sounds. Part 3 describes approximant systems in a variety of the languages of the world, including several Indo-European languages but also examples of Dravidian, Semitic, Uralic, and Sinitic languages, and languages from Africa, South America, and Australia. The final part contains a single chapter that examines the approximant category phonetically and phonologically, asking whether the approximant consonant group is justified.

The Phonetics and Phonology of Approximants offers a holistic yet detailed understanding of the fascinating concept of approximants and its many implications.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: What Are Approximants?
Martin J. Ball

Part I: General Aspects
1. Articulatory Aspects of Approximants
Eleanor Lawson & James Scobbie
2. Acoustic Aspects of Approximants
Sherman Charles
3. Perceptual Aspects of Approximants
Grant McGuire
4. Phonological Aspects of Approximants
Harry van der Hulst & Jeroen van de Weijer
5. Sociolinguistics Aspects of Approximants
Claire Nance & Robert Lennon
6. Approximant Inventories
Ian Maddieson
7. Transcription of Approximants
Martin J. Ball

Part II: Approximants in Acquisition and in Atypical Speech
8. Acquisition of Maltese Approximants
Helen Grech
9. Acquisition of Spanish Approximants
Jessica Barlow & Philip Combiths
10. Acquisition of Laterals in Portuguese
Marcia Keske-Soares & Marizete Ilha Ceron
11. Acquisition of English Rhotic Approximants
Rachael Knight & Peter Flipsen
12. Approximants in Clinical Populations
Joseph Stemberger, Sarah Masso, & Joanne Cleland

Part III: Approximants in specific languages and language groups
13. From Half-Sounds to Approximants: The History of /l/ and /j/ in Hungarian
Mária Gósy & Ruth Huntley Bahr
14. The Greek Approximants
Ioannis Papakyritsis
15. Approximants in Italian
Chiara Meluzzi
16. Spanish Approximants
Mauricio Figueroa & Brandon Rogers
17. Approximants in the Celtic Languages
Pavel Iosad
18. The Perception of Dense Approximant Inventories in Hindi and Malayalam
Philip Howson & Irfana Madathodiyil
19. Approximants in Tamil
Hemalatha Nagarajan, Meena Debashish, & Nivedha Narayanaswamy
20. The Liquids /ɹ/ and /l/ in Mandarin Chinese
Shuwen Chen, Zhiqiang Zhu & Peggy Mok
21. Approximants in Australian Languages
Brett Baker & Marija Tabain
22. Approximants in Tupi-Guarani Languages
Fernando de Carvalho
23. Irish English /ɹ/
Nicola Bessell, Alice Lee and Aoife Hennessy
24. Pharyngeals in Hebrew and Arabic
Asher Laufer

Part IV: Conclusion
25. Is a Category Approximant Justified Phonetically and/or Phonologically?
Eugenio Martínez Celdrán, Lourdes Romera Barrios, & Wendy Elvira-García
Afterword
Martin J. Ball

Index