Spoken language is the basis of most human communication - and in one's native language most speakers do not think twice about whether it is easy or hard to master. A foreign language is a different matter; for most people, good pronunciation is practically impossible to acquire without intensive and explicit intellectual effort.
In phonetics, interactive audio-visual media have been used for many decades in order to transform acoustic speech signals into visual representations for further study. In this class, we will continue this tradition using modern media based on easy-to-use interactive software. This approach also ensures that students gain knowledge about multi-media techniques which will be important in many professions in the near future, including the teaching profession.
At the end of the course, students will have a thorough knowledge of practical aspects of recording and analysing speech; production of a CD-ROM with basic speech data; acoustic properties of vowels, consonants, and speech melody; practical transcription techniques; basic principles of the production and perception of speech; the phonological structure of English words and syllables.
For M.A. students, this obligatory class constitutes half of the Grundkurs in English Linguistics. Further information will be available on my teaching web-site before the beginning of term.
The coursebook is:
J. Clark & C. Yallop (1995), An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell (or a later edition).