Phonetics, Phonology and Morphology
Berkeley phonology PhDs are known for
the breadth and depth of their knowledge, which comes from their solid
training in phonetics, formal phonology, morphology and historical
linguistics and from the empirical commitment to accurate language
description which is a hallmark of the department. Berkeley phonology
PhDs have gone on to receive appointments in the finest linguistics
departments throughout the country.
Research and teaching in PHONOLOGY at Berkeley is colored by the view that universal, typological, and language-specific generalizations concerning the synchronic patterning of sounds systems can be explained only if phonology is approached within the context of phonetics, grammar, and history. Phonetics, phonology, morphology, and historical linguistics are all areas in which the Berkeley department is strong, and Berkeley linguists are world leaders in laboratory, field, and cross-linguistic research. As part of our broad approach to the study of language, the faculty encourage phonology students to pursue scholarly interests in the synchronic and diachronic linguistics of a specific language or language-family and to develop experimental and computational skills in our Phonology Laboratory.
Our work in PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY has emphasized the ways in
which phonological patterns can come to be identified with specific
morphological constructions. Both Profs. Larry Hyman and Sharon Inkelas have
conducted extensive research into the ways in which phonology and
morphology interact cross-linguistically; this interaction is also one
focus of the research of Prof. Richard Rhodes, who
specializes in Native American languages. A theme in research and
teaching of phonology at Berkeley is that understanding the synchronic
phonology of a language requires a solid understanding of the
language's morphology.
The interaction between SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC PHONOLOGY is an
important component of the phonology program. The commitment to
understanding phonological patterns in terms not only of their
synchronic properties but also in terms of their historical origins
surfaces both in teaching and in faculty and student research. Much of
Prof. Larry Hyman's research has treated both the diachronic and
synchronic dimensions of such phenomena as tone, vowel harmony,
nasality, and prosodic morphology. Prof. Andrew Garrett, an
Indo-European historical linguist and an Americanist, has written
about the diachronic origins of synchronic phonological patterns in a
wide range of languages. Sound change, and the relation of synchronic
phonological patterns to their phonetic origins, form a prominent
focus of the research of Prof. John Ohala, emeritus
Director of the Phonology Laboratory.
Research and teaching in PHONETICS at Berkeley emphasizes the
causal role that speech perception, acoustics, articulation, and
aerodynamics play in the origin of systematic phonetic and
phonological patterns. Prof. Ohala is a world renowned phonetician who
maintains an active research profile at Berkeley as an emeritus
professor. The cognitive organization of language sound systems is the
research focus of Prof. Keith Johnson, current
director of the Phonology Laboratory. Johnson conducts research on
talker normalization processes in speech perception, on the
sociophonetic cueing of talker identity, and on the influence of
language experience on perceptual phonetic categories. Prof. Susanne Gahl also
studies the cognitive organization of language, primarily by
investigating patterns of pronunciation variation in conversational
speech. The Berkeley phonetics teaching program includes graduate
courses in instrumental field phonetics and phonetic theory.