This is an introductory textbook on phonological analysis, and does not assume any prior exposure to phonological concepts. The core of the book is intended to be used in a first course in phonology, and the chapters which focus specifically on analysis can easily be covered during a ten-week quarter. Insofar as it is a textbook in phonology, it is not a textbook in phonetics (though it does include the minimum coverage of phonetics required to do basic phonology), and if used in a combined phonetics and phonology course, a supplement to cover more details of acoustics, anatomy and articulation should be sought: Ladefoged 2001a would be an appropriate phonetics companion in such a course.

The main emphasis of this book is developing the foundational skills needed to analyze phonological data, especially systems of phonological alternations. For this reason, there is significantly less emphasis on presenting the various theoretical positions which phonologists have taken over the years. Theory cannot be entirely avoided, indeed it is impossible to state generalizations about a particular language without a theory which gives you a basis for postulating general rules. The very question of what the raw data are must be interpreted in the context of a theory, thus analysis needs theory. Equally, theories are formal models which impose structure on data – theories are theories about data – so theories need data, hence analysis.