Phonetics belongs to the Oxford series entitled Introduction to language studies edited by H. G. Widdowson. Widdowson states in the preface that the purpose of this series is “not to supplant but to support the more academically oriented introductions to linguistics: to prepare the conceptual background” by providing “a general context in reference to which detail makes sense” (p. vii). The book is divided into four sections: a survey, which is written to be readable and informative; a collection of readings extracted from the specialist literature, which extends the concepts presented in the survey; a list of references; and a glossary, which is cross-referenced to the survey.

The survey contains 10 chapters: The first three constitute mainly an introduction to speech production and articulatory phonetics with a brief reference to speech perception. The following chapters include topics in phonetics such as tone, suprasegmentals, coarticulation, and variation as well as a succinct summary in acoustic phonetics and a conclusion. Due to its comprehensive nature, chapters are brief introductions to the topics addressed. Their strength resides in the clarity with which complex ideas are exposed, which is strengthened by the inclusion of illustrations, charts, and examples that refer to a variety of languages besides British English.

The readings section offers more in-depth discussions. By means of specialized readings and their related sets of questions, the author invites us to compare studies with different results or to apply concepts such as sound system to child and adult populations, thus adding some complexity to the ideas exposed in the survey.

The author has accomplished his goal for this book, producing an excellent introduction to the study of phonetics that is scholarly and easily readable. It is a useful tool for teachers and an enjoyable and informative textbook for students and nonlinguists.