Phonetics
Peter Roach

ISBN 194372391, Printed in Spain by Unigraf, S. L., PP 116

Reviewed by
Rana Faqir Muhammad Aslam

The study of language has always been a matter of great interest for man. Due to man’s inquisitive nature, he has tried to explore language on micro as well as macro levels. During the last two centuries, linguists have paid systematic attention to the study of language. The spoken language, being the focus, attracted the attention of the linguists and as a result Phonetics (the study of human speech sounds) evolved.

Sir William Jones expressed great interest in the problems of Phonetic transcription of Asiatic languages. His work was studied by A. J. Ellis. He, in collaboration with Sir Isaac Pitman brought alphabetic reform which ultimately led to the establishment of International Phonetics Association. IPA devised special marks or symbols to represent each sound used in the world languages. (more…)