German Phonetics and Phonology

Theory and Practice

O'Brien Grantham Mary, Fagan Sarah M. B.

The first course book designed to engage students in the pronunciation of modern German by grounding practice in theory An essential introduction to the pronunciation of modern German, this unique classroom text is designed to help mid- to upper-level undergraduate students of German produce more accurate and comprehensible German speech. Written in English in a clear and engaging style and employing a minimum of technical jargon, it is the first German phonetics and phonology text to focus on theory and practice, covering topics ranging from the analysis of one's own speech to historical developments and regional variation. This work includes a wealth of exercises supported by an ancillary website audio program designed to help students perceive and produce sounds and prosodic features more accurately. Addressing topics such as word stress, sentence stress, and intonation as well as the pronunciation of individual sounds, this one-of-a-kind primer provides its users with a solid basis in German phonetics and phonology in order to improve their pronunciation of German.

About the Author

Mary Grantham O'Brien is associate professor of German at the University of Calgary in Canada, where she lives.

Sarah M. B. Fagan is professor of German at the University of Iowa, where she lives.

Reviews

"This book is unlike anything else on the market. It's not only up-to-date, but balanced between phonetics and phonology while covering a wide range of practical and theoretical issues. With all that, it will still be accessible to a broad audience. I look forward to teaching with this book" – Joseph Salmons, author of "A History of German: What" the past reveals about today's language

"I have taught German phonetics and phonology many times over the years and believe that this book is unsurpassed on the market. It is extremely well-written and does equally well at covering the basics of theory and practice with regard to German phonetics and phonology" – Richard Page, Penn State University

"This book is unique for at least two reasons: it covers a wider range of topics in the area of German phonetics and phonology than many others, and it explicitly addresses the development of skills of the learner of German – again in a large variety of domains" – Richard Wiese, Institute for Germanic Linguistics, University of Marburg

"Rather than simplifying, excellent textbooks help their readers through reality by providing good explanations and examples and by showing them modern methodology. O'Brien and Fagan's book has exactly those qualities" – Michael Jessen, German National Forensic Science Institute, Wiesbaden

Back to the list of books