Phonetics For Class 2

[Veronica Hernandez]

Bycourse completion, students will be able to

Transcribe typical and atypical speech using the IPA, including using appropriate diacritics

Describe and compare the IPA system for classifying speech sounds, including vowels, diphthongs and consonants

Define and contrast basic phonological terms

Describe typical allophonic variation in American English

Use the IPA, knowledge of allophonic variation and knowledge of suprasegmental features to transcribe connected speech in citation form and casual form

Describe the way the articulators produce speech sounds

Understand basic acoustic analysis of speech sounds

Describe speech sound differences and disorders

This course will provide an overview of clinical phonetics, including training in transcription of American English speech sounds along with an introduction to phonological analysis, the dynamics of articulation, and dialect variations. Students will learn to hear, transcribe using the International Phonetic Alphabet, and analyze speech sound production. Students will learn basic anatomy of the speech mechanism and how anatomic movement shapes sound production. They will learn conventions for coding differences in speech sound production within and across languages and learn to compare and contrast sound productions. They will be introduced to ways this knowledge can be used within a clinical setting.

The course I'm taking with Prof. Stanford this term is LING 20: Experimental Phonetics. It's the first linguistics class I've taken here that fulfills the Technology or Applied Science distributive requirement, so the approach to the material is a slightly different angle than I'm used to. The official course description is as follows: "This course is an introduction to speech physiology, articulation, and the acoustic analysis of speech. Students will acquire knowledge of the experimental and computational techniques that are relevant for investigating the production of speech. This includes equipment functioning, data collection and recording techniques, techniques for analyzing speech acoustics, and analysis of data from a variety of languages."

One of the key elements of the class is a term-long partnered research project on a phonetically under-researched language of your (and your partner's) choice. I'm working with a fellow senior linguistics major and another classmate who speaks the language on the phonetics of Brazilian Portuguese, and we've had the chance to use the department's soundproof sound booth and recording equipment to make recordings of words, then use the phonetics software Praat to perform acoustic analysis of various sounds in the language.

Another awesome part of LING 20 so far has been the in-class experiments and demonstrations! Just last week, several (volunteer!) classmates painted their mouths with a concoction of olive oil and activated charcoal powder to create palatograms of their fricatives so we could more clearly visualize which parts of the mouth functioned as articulators for which sounds. It sounds a bit silly, but it's not an uncommon phonetic research practice and was a really helpful learning tool. I've enjoyed each of Prof. Stanford's classes here, but all the unique hands-on opportunities in Experimental Phonetics have been extra delightful!

An excursion on our German-Engineering FSP brought us to Hamburg, a major port city in the Northern part of the country! We explored the bustling port city for three days, completely sponsored by the Foreign Study Program.

Sophomore Summer has already defined itself by its exciting, unfamiliar experiences and the relaxed atmosphere of campus. With new classes and clubs in full swing, here is what I have been up to during this wonderful time on campus!

In the summer, prospective students might take the time to visit potential colleges and universities to apply to. But what are some things to look for as you peruse campuses and take in the view, especially during the summer? Here are some ideas!

Study of general phonetics principles; articulatory, acoustic and linguistic aspects of the sound systems of standard and non-standard dialects of American English; introduction to the application of phonetics to disordered sound systems.

The purpose of this course, Spanish Phonetics, is to first introduce the students to the sounds and articulation of the Spanish Language through its phonetics and phonology. Second, it allows the students whose first language is English, to obtain a like-native pronunciation, reducing their foreign accent. Last, this course, offers a first-hand introduction to the wide dialectal variation as far as phonetics is concerned, from American Spanish and the Spanish spoken and used in Spain (peninsular)

This course introduces students to the study of phonetics, the branch of linguistics that studies the sounds of human speech and their classifications. The course is an introduction to the articulation and basic acoustics of speech sounds used in the world's languages, including English in comparison with other languages. This course includes extensive practice in speech-sound perception, phonetic transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and spectrogram reading through Wavesurfer and PRAAT or other software programs.

Academic Integrity policy (department or College):

Academic honesty is expected of all students. Any violation of academic integrity is taken extremely seriously. All assignments and projects must be the original work of the student or teammates. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any questions regarding academic integrity should be brought to the attention of the instructor. The following is the Queensborough Community College Policy on Academic Integrity: "It is the official policy of the College that all acts or attempted acts that are violations of Academic Integrity be reported to the Office of Student Affairs. At the faculty member's discretion and with the concurrence of the student or students involved, some cases though reported to the Office of Student Affairs may be resolved within the confines of the course and department. The instructor has the authority to adjust the offender's grade as deemed appropriate, including assigning an F to the assignment or exercise or, in more serious cases, an F to the student for the entire course." Read the University's policy on Academic Integrity opens in a new window(PDF).

Disabilities

Any student who feels that he or she may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Accessibility Services in Science Building, Room S-132, 718-631-6257, to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. You can visit the Office of Accessibility Services website.

The MPhil in Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics is a taught course offering a range of options for graduates seeking a higher academic qualification in language studies and wishing to specialise in general linguistics (including phonetics but not applied linguistics), in historical and comparative linguistics, or in the linguistics of a specific language.

In addition to a compulsory paper in linguistic theory, you will specialise in general linguistics (B), Indo-European historical and comparative philology and linguistics (C) or in the linguistics of one or two selected languages (D).

You may also ask for one option in another subject in general linguistics; approval will be subject to the availability of proper instruction and provision for examination. For students with substantial previous training in the subject, it is also possible to choose Computational Linguistics as an option.

You will select two ancient Indo-European languages or language groups (eg Greek, Italic, Celtic, Anatolian, Indo-Iranian, Slavic). Three exam papers cover the comparative grammar, the historical grammar, and a number of set texts for linguistic commentary in the two languages or language groups.

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology & Phonetics and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics. All students will meet with their course supervisor at the beginning and end of each term to receive advice about useful lectures and seminars and to review the progress made.

The compulsory paper in linguistic theory will be examined at the end of the first year. Three other assessments (corresponding to the options you have chosen) will take place at the end of the second year. Assessment will involve exams and/or submissions depending on which options you choose.

Some MPhil students proceed to doctoral work at Oxford; others continue academic study at other institutions. Other career destinations include publishing, secondary and further education, finance, and IT.

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

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