Chapter 1

PART I Theory and Background
Chapter 1 Method in Phonology
1.1 Introduction
Examine the methodological achievements of phonology
1.2 Questions, Answers, Method
1.2.1 Questions
Some of the questions have good candidate answers. Some of the questions do not yet have widely accepted answers
1.2.2 Theories
The theories or candidate answer given to the questions vary a great deal.
1.2.3 Methods
Methods employed by scientific disciplines—especially those that are experimental or fundamentally empirical
The development of new methods can revolutionize a discipline.
Three key elements of what has been called the “scientific method”
To present data in an objective way
In a quantified way—that is, numerically
To present evidence that overcomes doubt as to its relevance to a particular hypothesis or theory.

Perface

Preface
The origin of the book
May 2004 Berkeley, conference on “Methods in Phonology”
Conference in honor of John Ohala
The two focuses on central facets of experimental approaches
Experimental methods
Methods to test phonological hypothesis on
the knowledge of speakers and hears’ native sound system
the acquisition of the sound system
the laws that govern the sound system
Methods are not static
Increasingly diverse questions
Structure of grammar
Representation of sound patterns
Phonetic and phonological constraints
Categorization
New technology and database open up new opportunities
Development of the techniques
Availability of corpora
Phonological unification in recognition and application
Experiment embedment within other science fields
To unify the established knowledge and the account of language and speech
Modeling in Phonology and relevant techniques
The ability to model relevant behaviors and patterns
The increasing importance of modeling tools
Phonological findings, techniques and implications
Another focus is on the phonological findings that emerge from the use of experimental techniques and their theoretical implications.
The major phonological issues in this book
Phonological universals
Understanding the phonetic factors that may give rise to phonological change
Maintaining, enhancing and modeling phonological contrast.
Assessing phonological knowledge.
The introduction of the content
Part I—theoretical considerations and background.
Part II—“Phonological Universals”
Part III—“Phonetic variation and phonological change” .
Part IV—“Modeling, Maintaining, and Enhancing Phonological Contrast”
Part V—“Phonotactic and phonological knowledge”.