An Introduction to Japanese Phonology (Suny Series in Linguistics)

This is the first book to provide comprehensive coverage of the modern Japanese sound system. It also serves as a useful reference on the structure of Japanese, since it presupposes only a basic background in linguistics. Among the topics discussed are the articulatory setting, phonemicization, vowel devoicing, syllables and moras, accent, the velar nasal, sequential voicing, other morphophonemic alternations, and verb morphology. The treatment draws on work by both Japanese and Western scholars. The book emphasizes phenomena that are likely to interest readers with a variety of theoretical perspectives.