Linguistics 110 Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology
 Autumn, 2008


Time/Location: MWF 10-11, 3 Le Conte
Course Code: 52371
No. of Units: 4

Instructor:

Keith Johnson, 1222 Dwinelle
keithjohnson@berkeley.edu
Office hours: TuTh 1:30-2:30, and by appointment.

Graduate Student Instructors:

Will Chang, 51 Dwinelle     Charles Chang, 51, Dwinelle
wchang@berkeley.educharleschang@berkeley.edu
Office hours: M 11-12, 1-2F 11-12, 1-2

The aim of this course is to provide the student with the practical skills and the conceptual framework to do further work in phonetics and phonology, especially as this involves the description and scientific explanation of language sound systems. It will give training in the production, perception, physiological and acoustic description, and IPA transcription of the speech sounds used in the languages of the world. It is an overview of phonetic representations and models, including the International Phonetic Alphabet, acoustic theory of speech production and Quantal Theory through recent models of intonation and the representation of prosodic structure, with some coverage of basic phenomena and theories of speech perception. The main function of the course is to provide the essential background for further work in phonetics and laboratory phonology. It also covers some of the essential background for courses in phonological theory by reviewing the principles of phonological contrast and alternation and distinctive feature representations, and by providing the opportunity to exercise transcription skills in conjunction with other methods of observation by doing a small field project.

Coursework: weekly reading assignments; 8 homework assignments; in-class exercises; final exam; term paper.

Computation of grade: 25% term paper; 25% final exam; 40% homework assignments; 10% participation in section meetings & in-class exercises.

Textbooks:

Peter Ladefoged. (2006) A Course in Phonetics. 5th Ed. HBJ

Keith Johnson. (2003) Acoustic and Auditory Phonetics. 2nd Ed. Blackwell.

Textbook (optional)

IPA (1999) Handbook of the International Phonetic Association. CUP.

Homework assignments: It is a good idea to download each assignment about a week before it is due and start on it early, because the homework assignments are related to the material that will be emphasized in the lectures and on the exams. In writing up the assigned questions, keep in mind that these are exercises to practice knowledge; they are not mini take-home tests. So, don’t agonize over any single particularly difficult question at the expense of others. Also, because solutions to assigned exercises will be discussed in class on the day that the homework is due, late homework cannot be accepted.

Exam: The final will be given during the regularly scheduled exam time for this course (December 13th, 8-11 am, location: TBA) and it will be comprehensive. No make-up exams can be given except in the case of dire documented medical emergencies, or in case the exam time conflicts with a religious obligation day (as per university policy).

Course project: This is a small field project, a from-scratch phonetic description of a language, done in collaboration with a native-speaker consultant. It is intended as a practicum for using the observational methods and representations associated with the phonetic models covered in the class, and for appreciating the role of the symbolic representations and observational methods of classical articulatory phonetics within the larger framework of phonetic theory. See the additional handout for a more detailed description.

Tentative schedule:
1: Aug 27, & 29 Introduction to phonetic transcription

reading: Ladefoged, ch. 1 & 2
notes: Course Introduction
notes: Speech Anatomy

2: Sept 3 & 5 Phonetic transcription

notes: Transcribing English
section: Bell's "Visible Speech" alphabet, International Phonetic Alphabet
Homework 1: Transcription of English (Due Monday, Sept. 8) --- Sound files for HW1

3: Sept 8, 10, & 12 Phonetics of English

reading: Ladefoged, ch 3 & 4
section: Place names in IPA transcription
Homework 2: Backward speech (Due Monday, Sept. 15) --- Sound files for HW2

4: Sept 15, 17 & 19 Sounds of the world’s languages: Consonants

reading: Ladefoged, ch 6 & 7
notes: Stop place of articulation
notes: Fricatives
notes: Approximants and liquids
notes: Stop Universals
Project interim report (Due Monday, Sept. 22)
section: transcription practice

5: Sept 22, 24, & 26 Sounds of the world’s languages: Vowels

reading: Ladefoged, ch 9 & 10
notes: Vowels
notes: Vowel across languages
notes: Vowel universals
section: transcription practice

6: Sept 29, Oct 1 & 3 Sounds of the world’s languages: prosody

reading: Ladefoged, ch 5 & 10
notes: Suprasegmentals
notes: Intonation
notes: Rhythm
Homework 3: Transcription of the world’s languages (due Monday, October 6)

7: Oct 6, 8 & 10 Acoustic phonetics

reading: Johnson, ch. 1 & 2
notes: Source/Filter theory
section: WaveSurfer speech analysis --- sound files

8: Oct 13, 15 & 17 Acoustic phonetics

reading: Johnson, ch. 5 & 6
notes: Vowel acoustics
section: Acoustic phonetics review
Homework 4: Plot your vowels (due Monday, October 20)

9: Oct 20, 22 & 24 Acoustic phonetics

reading: Johnson, ch 7 & 8
section: production exam

10: Oct 27, 29, & 31 Phonological contrast

reading: Ladefoged, ch 11
notes: Phonological features
notes: Cognitive organization of phonetics
notes: Allophonic relationships.     HANDOUT
handout: Tables of Phonological features (a terrible scan of a handout)
section: phonology problems
handout: Example phonology problems

11: Nov 5, 7 & 9 Phonology

reading: Supplemental reading (Odden, ch. 3)
notes: More on allophony with an introduction to morphophonology     HANDOUT
notes: Abstractness of underlying representations, interacting processes     HANDOUT
notes: Phonological processes
Homework 5: Phonological analysis (due Monday, November 10).

12: Nov 10, 12 & 14 Speech Motor control

notes: Mucles of the face and tongue
notes: Breathing and voice
reading: Supplemental reading (Lieberman & Blumstein, ch. 6)

13: Nov 17, 19 & 21 Speech Motor control

reading: Supplemental reading (Perrier, 2006)
notes: Speech motor control: Coordinative Structures
notes: Articulatory phonology
Homework 6: Physiology and gestures (due Monday, November 24)

14: Nov 24 & 26 Speech Aerodynamics

reading: Supplemental reading (Catford, ch. 3, Catford ch. 7 & 8)
notes: Speech aerodynamics
notes: Aerodynamic Phonology
Homework 7: Aerodynamics: voicing, frication, and nasality (due Monday, December 1)

15: Dec 1, 3, & 5 Speech Perception

reading: Johnson, ch 3 & 4
notes: Perception in phonology.
notes: Perception in sound change.
Homework 8: Perceptual cues in "Damp Skunk" (due Monday, Dec. 8)
sound file: A "damp skunk" sound file. You can use this one or record yourself saying the phrase "damp skunk".

16: Dec 8 & 10 Speech Technology

Final exam - Saturday, December 13, 8-11am, 101 Morgan Hall.

Supplemental reading is drawn from:
(the relevant chapters will be made available via bspace)

Catford, J.C. (1982) Fundamental Problems in Phonetics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Lieberman P. & Blumstein, S. (1988) Speech Physiology, Speech Perception, and Acoustic Phonetics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Odden, D. (2005) Introducing Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Perrier, P. (2006) About speech motor control complexity. In Harrington, J. & Tabain, M. (Eds.) Speech Production: Models, Phonetic Processes, and Techniques, New York: Psychology Press (pp. 13-25).

Additional helpful books:
Maddieson (1984) Patterns of Sound [P217.M238]
Ladefoged (1993) A Course in Phonetics, 3rd Ed. [P221.L25]
Ladefoged (1996) Elements of Acoustic Phonetics, 2nd Ed. [QP306.L3]
Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996) Sounds of the World's Languages [P221.L274]
Ladefoged (2001) Vowels and Consonants [P221.L276 2001 V1, V2]
Pullum & Ladusaw (1996) Phonetic Symbol Guide, 2nd Ed. [P221.P85]
Denes & Pinson (1973) The Speech Chain [QP306 .D45 1973]
Borden, Harris & Raphael (1994) Speech Science Primer [P95.B65 1994]

Academic misconduct:
Academic misconduct is a serious matter, with serious consequences. Plagiarism, failing to cite a source of information, and cheating during exams are all serious offenses. Accordingly, I take such misconduct seriously!




This document is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact Keith Johnson, Dwinelle 1222, 643-7617