TTh
Jeff Conn connjc@pdx.edu 503-725-4099 East Hall 241
Office Hours: Tues 2–4 & by appointment webpage: https://webmail.pdx.edu/~connjc
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theory and practice of phonology, that is, how sounds pattern in language, and how those patterns can be represented and explained. We will attempt to characterize these patterns in a minimal way through explicit formalisms, and attempt to explain why sounds pattern in the way they do by reference to such things as historical processes, speech physiology, and cognitive constraints on the speech system. A secondary and related goal is to develop the student’s skills at linguistic argumentation: students will learn to understand, develop, and evaluate linguistic arguments, the assumptions underlying those arguments, and the evidence used to support them.
The course will begin with a brief consideration of phonetics, as a familiarity with the simple description and characterization of speech sounds will be needed throughout the course. Students who have not taken a course in phonetics may need to consult introductory textbooks and Ladefoged, 2001.
The focus of this course will be an introduction to phonological theory, argumentation and analysis, not an exhaustive critique of all the possible phonological theories that have been proposed. While the majority of examples will be from English, some discussion must turn toward other languages when English does not suffice.
Required Text
Recommended Phonetics
Text
Ladefoged Website: http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/
Evaluation will be based on class participation (attendance), occasional quizzes and homework assignments, problem sets, and a final exam, as indicated below. There will be 5 problem sets throughout the term. Undergrads choose 3 to complete; grads must complete all 5. We will also be doing most all of the homework questions at the end of each chapter from the text unless instructed otherwise. The homework is not graded for correctness, only doneness. We will correct the homework in class.
|
|
UGs |
Grads |
|
Class
participation |
10% |
10% |
|
Quizzes/Homework |
30% |
30% |
|
Problem
sets |
30% |
30% |
|
Final
exam |
30% |
30% |
Participation. If you cannot make it to class, please let me know before class so you are absent can be counted as “excused.” You are not required to have perfect attendance, but too many unexcused absences will lower your participation part of your grade.
Final exam. The exam will be at a relatively low level of complexity in terms of what students will be asked to do. Its main function is to assess the extent to which you have done the readings, listened in lecture, and thought about the issues raised.
Students are strongly encouraged to work in small groups on the problems, especially those students for whom English is a second language.
For problem sets and type papers, please download SIL IPA93 fonts for your personal computer. Some computer labs on campus have these fonts, while some do not. Also, this is not a stable font, so when you save something from home or open it on another computer, even if that computer has the same SIL fonts. Always proof read something before you turn it in, since the correct symbol will be required for the answer to be correct!
The website to download the free fonts: http://www.sil.org/computing/fonts/Lang/silfonts.html
Then choose SIL IPA93.
Tentative Course calendar
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Week |
Tuesday |
Thursday |
|
1 |
1 (T 29 Mar) Introduction Bureaucratic preliminaries Phonetics |
2 (Th 31 Mar) Chapter 1 |
|
2 |
3 (T 5 Apr) Ch 1 HW 1-4, p. 43 due Finish Ch 1 Chapter 2 |
4 (Th 7 Apr)
Chapter 2 |
|
3 |
5 (T 12 Apr) Chapter 2 |
6 (Th 14 Apr) Ch 2 HW, pp. 70-71 Finish Chapter 2 |
|
4 |
7 (T 19 Apr) Chapter 3 Problem Set 1 due |
8 (Th 21 Apr) Ch 3 HW (3.1-3.7), pp. 103-104 Finish Chapter 3 |
|
5 |
9 (T 26 Apr) Problem Set 2 due Chapter 4 |
10 (Th 28 Apr) Chapter 4 |
|
6 |
11 (T 3 May) Ch 4 HW, pp. 144-45 Finish Chapter 4 |
12 (Th 5 May) Problem Set 3 due Chapter 5 |
|
7 |
13 (T 10 May) Chapter 5 |
14 (Th 12 May) Chapter 5 |
|
8 |
15 (T 17 May) Ch 5 HW, pp. 197-199 Chapter 5 |
16 (Th 19 May) Problem Set 4 due Chapter 6 |
|
9 |
17 (T 24 May) Chapter 6 |
18 (Th 26 May) Ch 6 HW, pp. 237-239 Chapter 6 |
|
10 |
19 (T 31 May) Chapter 7 |
20 (Th 2 Jun) Problem Set 5 due Chapter 7 (no HW) Review |
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Final Exam: Th June
9, |
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