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This course is about understanding the sounds of speech. In the first part of the course, we think carefully about how we produce sound, how we use our vocal apparatus to create different sounds and how these sounds combine in turn to form speech. In the second part, we learn about how we can measure and interpret changes in the air caused by speech. Finally, we explore connections to other areas of language study and we consider how knowledge of speech sounds could be applied in the real world context of forensic investigation.
Speech is our most common form of communication and it plays a huge role in our lives. This course is about speech. We will think carefully about how we produce sound, how the various muscles we use combine in order to create different sounds and how these sounds combine in turn to create spoken utterances (i.e. articulatory phonetics). When we produce speech, we make changes to the air molecules around us (this is what we ‘hear’) and so in tandem with exploring speech articulation, on this course we will also learn about how we can measure and interpret changes in the air caused by speech (i.e. acoustic phonetics).
By the end of the course, students will: Understand the central principles of acoustic and articulatory phoneticsBe familiar with using computer software such as Praat to analyse speechBe able to transcribe speech in detail using the IPA As a student in this course you will not only acquire subject specific skills, you will also acquire a number of transferrable skills. For example, by the end of this course you will be able to... Read critically and objectivelyAnalyse phonetic dataMeet deadlines
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
LING101 or LING111 or ENGL123 or ENGL112
CMDS231
Viktoria Papp
A class test will take place during the workshop slot in week 7. This will be a short answer assessment testing your knowledge and understanding of the articulatory and acoustic properties of vowels and consonants of English (i.e. material covered in class between weeks 1-6). This will account for 30% of your coursework mark overall.There will be two take-home tasks, one due in week 4 and one due in week 6. These are worth 15% of the course each, and they will give you the opportunity to practice the sort of analytical techniques you will need to master to do well in the final assignment. You will have one week to do each take-home task. At the end of the semester, you will hand in a written assignment in which you will have the chance to conduct some basic phonetic analysis and/or discuss theoretical issues in some depth. This will account for 40% of your coursework mark overall.
Ladefoged, Peter. , Disner, Sandra Ferrari; Vowels and consonants ; 3rd ed; Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
Ladefoged, Peter. , Johnstone, Keith; A course in phonetics ; 6th ed; Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011.
Library portalThe course outline is available on LEARN (only for students enrolled in this course). LEARN
Domestic fee $746.00
International fee $3,038.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Language, Social and Political Sciences .