Fundamentals of Phonetics: A Practical Guide for Students (2nd Edition)

I am using this book for my "Applied Phonetics" class and it is working out great. It is very thorough and well put together. I haven't opened the cd yet so I am not sure how helpful that is. I have been working through the book at a steady pace and haven't felt like anything is negative about this book, I really like it so far. Obviously if you are buying this you need it for something to do with speech/language or for a class so it might be required. It is worth the money and make sure you buy it new or you will do a lot of erasing and whiting-out. This is a workbook with pages and pages of writing exercises.

After looking at a number of textbooks for a course in English phonetics, I decided to use Fundamentals of Phonetics by Larry Small. The book almost teaches itself. There are hundreds of short exercises that students can use on their own. The answer key at the back of the book covers a vast majority of the learning tools. My task as a teacher is greatly simplified.

The examples and diagrams are clear. I also like the enclosed CD with sample utterances. I would have preferred that the audio tapes mentioned in the text be included on the CD, rather than as a separate purchase.

I found the book to be very well organized and a useful reference. The CD was not as helpful. The author could have done more with the CD, putting more material to get his message across. All in all though, for someone studying G.A. phonology in another country, this has proved to be a sound guide.