Phonetic and phonological aspects of English in England and Wales

                                                       Michaela Hejná (University of Manchester)

                                                                    misprdlina@gmail.com

                                                            http://misprdlina.wordpress.com/

Course Organisation:

• the course will take place in 10 sessions, two sessions per day (9:00 - 10:30 and 12:00 - 13:30) on January 9th, 12th - 14th and 16th. (room P111 and P001)

• it will be conducted in English

• course description also available in SIS (AAA500143)

• it is primarily intended for MA students of English Linguistics, but if space allows, BA students and students of other fields are also welcome

• please register at zuzana.freitas@ff.cuni.cz

if you have any question about the organisation of the course, let us know at zuzana.freitas@ff.cuni.cz

Course Description:

The module starts with a general introduction to the current state of dialectology and the relationship of phonetics and phonology. The main part consists of mini lectures on various phonetic and phonological aspects of accents spoken in England and in Wales, with a focus on phonetic analyses in the practical part of the classes. The final two lectures address trends and sound changes in English accents spoken in England and Wales, commenting on both segmental and prosodic features.

The tutorials are based on two accents: Mancunian English (Manchester) and Aberystwyth English (Ceredigion, mid Wales).
After taking this module, the student should be able to carry out basic phonetic analyses, design acoustic experiments relevant not only for the phonetics but also for the phonology of the accent chosen, and have a good overview of those aspects which are the most relevant to the study of English accents. The outcome should provide the student with basic knowledge needed for further phonetic, sociolinguistic, or historical analyses (apparent- and real-time). 

Requirements

In order to obtain credits for this class, the student has to attend the class regularly and pass the final analysis, which is to be done in-class on the last day; the analysis will be based on aspects learnt in topics 2-6.

Course Outline

Topic 1: Lecture & discussion: Accents and dialects, dialectology, phonetics and phonology; Practical: Introduction to Praat

Topic 2: Mini-lecture: Phonetic and phonological aspects of vowels; Practical: Analysing Vowels

Topic 3: Mini-lecture: Plosives I: basic aspects; Practical: Analysing basic aspects of plosives

Topic 4: Mini-lecture: Plosives II: glottalisation and pre-aspiration; Practical: Analysing glottalisation and pre-aspiration

Topic 5: Mini-lecture: Fricatives; Practical: Analysing fricatives

Topic 6: Mini-lecture: Liquids; Practical: Analysing liquids

Topic 7: Mini-lecture: Further aspects of vowels and consonants; Practical: Revision, discussion

Topic 8: Lecture & discussion: English Accents in England and Wales - an overview

Topic 9: Lecture & discussion: English Accents in England and Wales - trends and sound changes

Topic 10: in-class analysis: Independent phonetic analysis of an accent