Phonetics and Phonology for Linguists and Language Enthusiasts

Topics of the class include articulators (larynx, tongue, lips, teeth, etc.), the places where they articulate sounds, and what they do to the airstream coming from the lungs in order to create those sounds. We will learn articulatory phonetics: how you create the sounds of human language; we will also learn to transcribe the sounds of human language using the International Phonetic Alphabet. We will learn how sound inventories combine together to create syllable structure, and how a sound grammar is built in order to create the phonological system of a language. We will workshop problems in phonetics and phonology, and take a look at a few artificial languages from film, TV, and other media which may include one or more of the following: Parseltongue, Na'vi, Klingon, Cthuvian, High Valerian.

Each class meeting is a workshop where students will take a problem or problem set and work through it to discover how bilabial stops become labiodental in child speech, for example, or how Japanese sibilants work. I provide the materials for each class, and students are responsible for downloading files, printing worksheets, and bringing paper, pencil, and their curiosity to the workshop. Some problem sets are paper style problems, but others are in the form of cooperative games or observation of video clips and making hypotheses. Due to this style, students must participate with video and microphone, paper and pencil, and get their hands dirty in working out the problems and generally participating actively. This class is not a good class for someone interested in just watching a lecture and learning by observing.

If you have taken my Linguistics for Grades 9-12, you will be prepared for phonetics and phonology. If you have had an introduction to what is linguistics before this class, you are also ready. If you haven't had any exposure to the field of linguistics before, write me a note and we can talk and decide if you will be able to get the most out of the class. In most cases, the answer will be yes.