Handbook of Phonetics

Abstract

The importance of phonetics as the indispensable foundation of all study of language-whether that study be purely theoretical, or practical as well- is now generally admitted. Without a knowledge of the laws of sound-change, scientific philology-whether comparative or historical- is impossible, and without phonetics their study degenerates into a mere mechanical enumeration of letter-changes. Now the philologists are directing their attention more and more to the study of living dialects and savage language, many of which have to be written down for the first time, the absolute necessity of a thorough practical as well as theoretical mastery of phonetics becomes more and more evident.