The Phoneme Its Nature and Use

The Phoneme, first published in 1950, is now not only a standard work on its subject but comprises Daniel Jone's major and final expression of his theoretical attitudes. This is a reissue of the third edition (1967), which includes the appendix on the history and meaning of the term phoneme. It sets out in detail the author's conclusions about the nature and function of the phoneme, illustrating them from over 40 languages. The book continues to represent for the historian of language an important landmark in the development of linguistics.

Preface; 1. Speech sounds; 2. The phoneme; 3. The semantic function of phonemes; 4. Phonetic transcription; 5. Other significant elements; 6. Minimal distinctions; 7. Examples of phonemic grouping; 8. Differences of usage in different languages; 9. Acoustic impressions; 10. Ascertaining the phonemes of a language; 11. Need for accurate analysis; 12. Difficulties in identifying sounds in special sequences; 13. Identification of sounds by characteristics of adjoining sounds; 14. Some difficulties in establishing phonemic groupings; 15. Gliding sounds and compound sounds; 16. Coloured vowels; 17. Vowels and consonants as members of the same phoneme; 18. Manner of use as a criterion; 19. The overlapping of phonemes; 20. Di-phonemic sounds; 21. Functions of length, stress and voice-pitch; 22. Significant length; 23. Chronemes; 24. Stress, prominence; 25. Tonemes; 26. Distinctions by complexes of attributes; 27. Diaphones; 27. Erratic pronunciation; 28. Mentalistic and functional conceptions of the phoneme; 29. The practical use of the theory of phonemes; 30. Further remarks on phonetic writing; 31. The phoneme in the history of languages; Appendices; Indexes.

The Phoneme, first published in 1950, is now not only a standard work on its subject but comprises Daniel Jone's major and final expression of his theoretical attitudes. The book represents for the historian of language an important landmark in the development of linguistics.