This series provides approachable, yet authoritative, introductions to major topics in linguistics. Ideal for students with little or no prior knowledge of linguistics, each book carefully explains the basics, emphasising understanding of the essential notions rather than arguing for a particular theoretical position. Assuming little or no background knowledge and using original examples and exercises, Understanding Phonetics provides an introduction to the basics and present a comprehensive survey of phonetic theory. Using examples from a wide range of languages, the book is accompanied by audio matieral on www.hodderplus.com/linguistics in order to provide students with ear training and authentic listening material.