230293 How to Handle Speech (S) (SoSe 2005)

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.

The main aims of this class are to enable students to understand the principles on which the pronunciation of English consonants, vowels, and prosody are based and to apply these principles to the construction of multimedia documents. After successful completion of this class, students will know about

• the structure of the sound system of English,
• the details of the pronunciation of English speech sounds,
• how speech sounds are produced,
• how speech sounds are perceived,
• how speech sounds are transmitted,
• how to edit digital recordings of speech sounds,
• how to analyze speech sounds into their component parts,
• how to transcribe speech sounds,
• how to perform basic experiments with speech sounds,
• how to make a multimedia document, including a glossary of technical terms.

Credit for this class can be gained on the basis of regular attendance, in-class project work, and a final written exam. A tutorial is provided to assist students with exercises, test preparation, study techniques, preparation of presentations, etc.

The coursebook for this class is:
P. Ladefoged (2000). A Course in Phonetics. Thomson Learning. (Try and get the most recent edition possible.)

For further reading:
J. Clark & C. Yallop (1995). An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell (2nd edition).

Please check my website for further information:

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