LFU:online

By the end of the course, students will (a) understand the basic anatomy of the human vocal tract, (b) be able to describe speech sounds in terms of place and manner of articulation, (c) be familiar with the range of human phonetic capabilities and phonological contrasts common in the languages of the world, (d) be proficient with a number of tools for data analysis (IPA transcription, Praat, and R), and (e) be familiar with the most common experimental designs for speech production and perception experiments.

This course is an introduction to experimental phonetics and phonology, the linguistic subfield concerned with describing, analyzing, and explaining how sounds are produced, heard, and mentally organized. In terms of phonetics, we will address the following questions: How are speech sounds produced? How does sound travel through the air? How are sounds registered by the ears? How can we measure speech? The phonology sessions will address questions such as: How do languages organize sounds to distinguish different words? What sorts of constraints do languages put on sequences of sound? The format will be very hands-on, with extensive exposure to primary data (e.g. Grüezi, Moin Servus App corpus; data from >100 AT DE and CH speakers) and signal analysis. Students will work on speech production and perception experiments using computer software (Praat and R). Fundamentals to both programs will be introduced in class, no prerequisites necessary.

PowerPoint presentations alternating with discussions, group tasks, empirical and experimental work; preparatory reading of scientific articles, student presentations.

Student projects (speech production or perception experiments) and in-class presentation of the projects. Active participation.

Relevant texts will be placed on OLAT. Students can get an idea of the topics to be covered by gleaning into:

Reetz, H. & Jongman, A. (2011). Phonetics: Transcription, production, acoustics, and perception (Vol. 34). John Wiley & Sons.

Ashby, M. & Maidment, J. (2005). Introducing phonetic science. Cambridge University Press.