ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the theory of phonology that was developed primarily between the 1930s and 1960s. It deals with the original ideas of the London School and outlines the foundations of the theory. The chapter draws attention to the distinct differences between prosodic analysis and the more popular theory of the time, phonemic analysis. It provides an introduction to prosodic analysis, discussing the state of phonology at the time of its development, and highlighting the major principles of the theory. The chapter then demonstrates some practical applications of the theory, focusing on vowel harmony, the notion of juncture, and its potential insights for the study of disordered speech. The distinguishing factors of prosodic analysis are its polysystemic and nonsegmental nature. Moreover, prosodic analysis still has a healthy modern-day following, with work in speech synthesis, conversation analysis, and child language still being conducted using the basic ideas of the theory.
