• The most comprehensive book on comparative phonology ever published
• Introduces the principles of Tones and Break Indices, a transcription system for prosodic analysis
• Compares 21 languages and includes three chapters (English, Italian, Swedish) on dialect typology
• The first book on intonation that includes sound files on a CD-ROM

This book illustrates an approach to prosodic typology through descriptions of the intonation and the prosodic structure of thirteen typologically different languages based on the same theoretical framework, the 'autosegmental-metrical' model of intonational phonology, and the transcription system of prosody known as Tones and Break Indices (ToBI). It is the first book introducing the history and principles of this system and it covers European languages, Asian languages, an Australian aboriginal language, and an American Indian language. The book shows how languages and dialects are similar to or different from other languages or dialect varieties in terms of the prosodic structure, the intonational categories, and their realizations. This is the first book on intonation which is accompanied by a CD-ROM where sound files mentioned in each chapter are stored.

Readership: Researchers and graduate students working on intonation and prosody, especially those who are interested in the phonological description of intonation.