Course Description
Introduction to the study of the sounds used in human languages and how sounds function as a system in individual languages. Fundamentals of articulatory and acoustic phonetics, basic phonological architecture and formalism, phonetic motivations for phonological alternations.
Athena Title
Phonetics and Phonology
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will become familiar with the articulatory parameters and acoustic analysis of speech sounds. Homework assignments will include transcription and spectral analysis using the free computer program Praat. They will understand the basic phonological architecture and formalism and be able to relate phonological alternations to phonetic motivations where appropriate. Students will present and argue for their analyses in homework assignments and a take-home final exam.
Topical Outline
Articulatory Phonetics phonetic parameters International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcription phonetic markedness/universals Acoustic Phonetics intro to Praat reading spectrograms spectral analysis Intro to Phonological Concepts phonological distributions phonological rules, derivational phonology Building Phonological Theory phonological features alpha notation rule ordering Pushing the Theory Further feature geometry autosegmental phonology syllable structure
Syllabus