Understanding Phonology, Fifth Edition, provides a clear, accessible and broad introduction to phonology. Introducing the basic concepts, it provides a comprehensive account of phonological topics like segmental contrasts, syllables and moras, quantity, tone and intonation, word stress, and prosodic constituent structure. This new edition has been streamlined to match widely applied course requirements. Key features include:

• Reorganized chapters to introduce key concepts earlier and increase accessibility for new students.


• New developments and an updated bibliography.


• Illustrations from languages spoken all over the planet, including Arabic, Central Alaskan Yupik, Hawaiian, Mandarin, French, Yabem, Yanyuwa, Yine and Zulu.


• Over 100 exercises to test understanding.


• A consistent illustration of Optimality Theory as applied to word stress.


• Updated online resources for students and instructors, including audio files, a key to questions, teaching goals and PowerPoint slides.

Understanding Phonology is essential reading for students coming to this topic for the first time.