Articulatory and impressionistic phonetics

Aims

Aims

This module will aim:

• to give students a thorough training in the skills of articulatory and impressionistic phonetics
• to teach production of the sounds of the IPA chart
• to teach skills and principles of impressionistic listening and phonetic transcription.

Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Satisfactory completion of the Autumn term assessment for Phonetics and Phonology.

Programme

Programme

Contact hours

Three contact hours per week.

Teaching programme

At least one of the three hours will be given over to phonetic production and perception; the rest of the time will be a mixture of lectures, workshops and seminars.

Subject content

• Be familiar with a wide range of sounds and the languages in which they are used, as well as the terminology and notation for their description
• Understand the mechanisms of the production of the sounds of languages and use phonetic arguments in reasoning
• Be able to produce, perceive and transcribe a wide range of speech sounds including many less common ones
• Familiarity with some of the main topics in current practice in phonetics
• Ability to work with data in a hands-on way

Academic and graduate skills

• Be able to read and use technical texts
• Small group work
• Oral and written presentation of technical material and arguments
• Confidence in self-presentation (through the production of the sounds of the IPA chart)

Teaching materials

• Laver, John (1994) Principles of Phonetics. Cambridge, CUP.
• Ladefoged, Peter & Ian Maddieson (1996) Sounds of the world’s languages. Oxford: Blackwell.

Assessment

Assessment

Formative work

• Written work due in fortnightly
• Oral/aural production weekly

Assessment

Summative assessment consists of 3 components:

• Oral production: 10 mins
  Weight: 35%
• Aural (transcription): 30 mins
  Weight: 35%
• Essay: 1,500 words
  Weight: 30%