This book is designed to provide students of phonology with an accessible introduction to the phonological architecture of words. It offers a thorough discussion of the basic building blocks of phonology - in particular features, sounds, syllables and feet - and deals with a range of different theories about these units. Colin Ewen and Harry van der Hulst present their study within a non-linear framework, discussing the contributions of autosegmental phonology, dependency phonology, government phonology and metrical phonology, among others. Their coherent, integrated approach reveals that the differences between these models are not as great as is sometimes believed. The book provides a more detailed analysis of this subject than previously available in introductory textbooks and is an invaluable and indispensable first step towards understanding the major theoretical issues in modern phonology at the word level.

‘… this book has obviously been written with meticulous attention to detail and an impressive clarity throughout … the text constitutes an excellent, well-written, thoughtful introduction to the various means of representing the phonological nature of segments and the structure of words.‘

Source: Phonetica

‘… the book provides a more detailed analysis of the subject than previously made in introductory textbooks …‘.

Source: The Phonetician