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Assignments | Resources
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
The course explains the articulatory system for language
that leads to the production of vowel and consonant sounds in the major dialects
in the sound system of English. The course also will introduce students
acoustic phonetics and to general principles of phonological rules and
representations. The course should prepare students to be able to describe
and transcribe the sounds of spoken language (with special emphasis on English).
The course will also prepare students to be able to recognize and describe the
phonemic and phonotactic patterns necessary to understand basic phonological
processes and problems in generative phonology.
Reading:
Chapters indicated in the syllabus should be read before the lecture.
Regular attendance in class is expected. The reading from the text will be
covered in lecture and class discussion. If, after reading and attending
the lectures the material is still troublesome for you, I am happy to help you
privately during my office hours.
Problems:
Students with little background in linguistics can find this course challenging.
The best way to learn phonology is to do phonology problems. Doing the
problems regularly and in a timely fashion will help ensure that you are
understanding the material and will lead to success on your examinations.
The problems assigned for homework will be done in groups. Each person in
the group should do all the problems before meeting with your group. After
your group meetings, each group should submit one set of problems to be graded.
Supplementary problems will also be provided for those who would like extra
practice. Answers for these problems will be provided on the course
website.
Quizzes and Exams:
The quizzes are short (20 minutes) tests your understanding of basic concepts
(vowels, consonants, IPA). Exams consist of questions ranging from
multiple choice to short answers and problem sets. For the two 50 minute
mid-term exams, there are 20 to 30 questions per exam covering material
presented in that section of the class. The final two-hour exam is cumulative
and will have approximately 50 questions.
Breakdown of points:
Exercises
10 pts for each weekly assignment, done in groups
Quizzes
25 pts for each (4 during the semester)
Exams
Midterms
(2) 60 pts
Final
100 pts
Grade Percentages:
A (above 92%)
AB (85-92%)
B (77-84%)
BC (69-76%)
C (61-68%)
D (53-60%)
F (below 53%)
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Required text:
Davenport, Mike & S.J. Hannahs. (1998) Introducing
Phonetics and Phonology. London: Arnold.
Recommended and on reserve:
Ladefoged, Peter. (1993). A Course
in Phonetics. New York: Harcourt Brace.
1. Introduction to the
course
chapter 1
2. Articulatory
phonetics
chapter 2
the speech production system
3.
Articulatory phonetics/Consonants
articulators
voicing
manner and place of
articulation
4. Consonants
chapter 3
details of consonant
description
5. Consonants/Quiz
chapter 3
review and quiz
6.
Vowels
chapter 4
major features
placement/allophonic
variation/tense-lax
7.
Vowels
chapter 4
diphthongs
additional features for vowels
8.
Vowels-Quiz; suprasegmentals
review and quiz
9.
suprasegmentals (part I)
English: stress, intonation, tone unit
10.
Lab demonstration on acoustical phonetics
chapter 5
11.
Distinctive Features
chapter 6
motivation
for (Jacobson/Chomsky and Halle)
major
classes
features for consonants
12.
Distinctive Features
chapter 6
vowels
13.
Distinctive features
chapter 6
14.
Midterm Exam
15.
Introduction to Phonology
chapter 7
structuralist
phoneme, allophone, minimal
pairs
16.
Phonemic Analysis
phonetic
similarity/naturalness
17.
Phonemic Analysis
system symmetry
18.
Quiz
19.
Phonological Alternations
chapter 8
alternation types
phonetic,
morphological, suppletive
20.
Phonological Alternations
formal rules and
rule writing
phonological
processes
21.
Phonological Alternations
22.
Problem day/catch up
23.
Midterm Exam
24. Phonological
Structure
chapter 9
representations-
feature matrices, feature geometry
25.
Phonological Structure (Suprasegmentals II)
syllable, tone, autosegmental phonology
26.
Intonation Units, syllable, rhythm
supplementary material
27.
Phonological Structure
review and
problems
28.
Quiz- Phonological Structure
chapter 10
Derivational Analysis /Phonotactics
29. SLA, phonotactics,
review
30. FINAL EXAM
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SPECIAL
ASSIGNMENTS
HO ch 2, Practice--Answers
1. a) mat, bat, pack d)
dark, lamp, trump, still
b) girl, cold
e) thin, then, think
c) vent, flat, phone
f) chin, jump, shore
a. alveolar, + voice
b. interdental, +voice
c. velar, +voice
d. alveopalatal, -voice
e. bilabial, +voice
f. alveopalatal, -voice
g. interdental, -voice
h. alveolar, -voice
i. velar and alveolar, -voice
j. alveopalatal, +voice
k. bilabial, +voice
l. velar, -voice
m. alveopalatal, +voice
n. labiodental, +voice
o. alveolar, +voice
p. alveolar, +voice
HO, ch 3 practice
A)
B)
1. voiceless, velar, stop
1. ["ethe"]
2. voiced, alveolar, liquid (approximate), retroflex rhotic
2. [h]
3. voiced, uvular, trill
3. [l]
4. voiced, labiodental, fricative
4. [t]
5. voiceless, bilabial, stop
5. we didn't talk about this in class. A voiceless
6. voiceless, bilabial, aspirated stop
alveopalatal fricative would be a "sh"
7. voiceless, alveopalatal, affricate
HO- Practice exercises- Natural classes
2. all are sonorants, but the retroflex "r" is not a nasal
3. all are fricatives except [n]
4. all are voiceless except [g]
5. all are alveolar except [k]
6. all have some kind of labial articulation except [t]
7. all are fricatives except for the "c" with the hachek over it,
which is an affricate
8. all are tense vowels except for [I]
9. all are non-low vowels except for [ae]
2. alveolar stops
3. velar stops
4. nasal stops
5. non-front vowels (in some vowels systems, these would be the class of
"back vowels")
Intonation Contours
1. 6.
2. 7.
3.
8.
4. 9.
5.
10.
PHONETICS/PHONOLOGY
RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET
Vowels and
Consonants of American and British English
click here
Practice
reading acoustical
Information on U.S. dialects
cues for speech sounds
click here
click
here
Sounds of the World's Languages-
from
Peter Ladefoged's Website
Information
on the languages of the world
click here
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