American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice

Revised throughout, the second edition of American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice provides a unique introduction to basic articulatory phonetics for students of English. Taking a practical approach, this book teaches the pronunciation of modern standard American English to intermediate and advanced learners worldwide. Now fully updated and restructured, this new edition features: · an up-to-date description of the pronunciation of modern American English; · comprehensive pronunciation practice for all the consonants and vowels of American English; · complete online audio for all pronunciation practice materials; · an updated and more accessible structure with a greater number of concise and reader-friendly chapters; · new chapters on plosives, fricatives, affricates, nasals, approximants, short vowels, long vowels and diphthongs; · expanded theory sections incorporating extensive exemplification for a more equal balance of theory and practice; · newly added transcriptions for all practice material. Ideal for studying pronunciation in the classroom or for independent student practice, American English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice is essential reading for any student of pronunciation and phonetics.

Paul Carley is a pronunciation coach and has held posts at the University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht, and the universities of Bedfordshire and Leicester. He has been a regular lecturer on the UCL Summer Course in English Phonetics and is co-author of Practical English Phonetics and Phonology, Fifth Edition (Routledge, 2025) and English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice, Second Edition (Routledge, 2024). Inger M. Mees is Associate Professor Emerita at the Copenhagen Business School. She has formerly held lectureships at the universities of Leiden and Copenhagen and is co-author of Practical English Phonetics and Phonology, Fifth Edition (Routledge, 2025) and English Phonetics and Pronunciation Practice, Second Edition (Routledge, 2024).

Transcription symbols The International Phonetic Alphabet Preface 1 Basic concepts 2 Introduction to consonants 3 Plosives 1 4 Plosives 2 5 Plosives: practice 6 Fricatives 7 Fricatives: practice 8 Affricates9 Affricates: practice10 Nasals 11 Nasals: practice12 Approximants13 Approximants: practice14 Introduction to vowels 115 Introduction to vowels 216 Short vowels17 Short vowels: practice18 Long vowels 19 Long vowels: practice 20 Diphthongs 21 Diphthongs: practice22 Syllabic consonants23 Syllabic consonants: practice24 Weak forms 125 Weak forms 226 Weak forms: practice27 Consonant clusters28 Consonant clusters: practice29 Connected speech 130 Connected speech 2 Suggested reading Index