Negotiation, sales talk and the art of spin 6

Phonology in Context takes a new look at phonology in real-world contexts beyond traditional concerns and challenges assumptions and practices.

It starts with a definition of phonology and phonetics, and unites research and theory from first and second-language acquisition, sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, evolutionary linguistics, contact linguistics, clinical linguistics, cognitive psychology, literacy and language teaching.

The authors' contributions, combining research, models and notes, offer new perspectives. Examples are drawn from English and other languages, including creoles and pidgins, Greek Koine and even communication between primates.

The book also provides a link between first-language acquisition in children and second-language acquisition in adults.

Who is it for? Postgraduate students and researchers in the field of phonology, and a wider audience.

Presentation: Summaries and clearly laid-out conclusions in each chapter. Despite the subject complexity and the necessary use of jargon (such as the "Pan-Semetic tri-consonantal lexical root system"), it is couched in clear and accessible English.

Would you recommend it? Yes.

Tim Connell is director of language studies at City University London.