Sociophonetics

Abstract This book provides a critical overview of sociophonetic research which considers how the findings of this field illuminate and problematize a range of central issues in phonetics and phonology. The primary argument of this book is that research carried out under the aegis of “sociophonetics” is uniquely positioned to address core questions in phonetic and phonological theory, to raise new questions for research, to improve theories of how the sounds of language are represented, structured, produced, and perceived, and to discern the relationship between the linguistic system and the social context in which speech production and perception occur.