Advanced Phonetics: National Chengchi University

Tentative syllabus
Advanced Phonetics
Professor I-ping Wan
National Chengchi University
Fall Semester 2010

Guest Professor: Karen Steffen Chung
National Taiwan University, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Teaching: Tuesdays 9:00am-12 noon, October 19-December 7, 2010
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/
karchung@ntu.edu.tw

     The emphasis in this portion of the course will be on practical training in articulatory phonetics. You will learn the sounds of many different languages of the world and how to correctly represent them in IPA. In principle, one or more dictations or quizzes will be given each class meeting to cultivate ear sensitivity in recognizing the sounds and transcribing them accurately.

     Students are expected to do daily reading in the textbook and daily practice for this course, plus a variety of additional readings and homework assignments. Mere theoretical knowledge is not enough to master the material – you must be able to actually produce and recognize the sounds yourself, and this comes only with close listening and practice. These are among the most basic of skills every serious student of linguistics is expected to master, so the training will be well worthwhile and well rewarded.

     The textbook we will use is:

Text (required):

     1. Bickford, Anita C. & Rick Floyd. Articulatory Phonetics: Tools for Analyzing the World's Languages, 4th edition. Dallas: SIL International, 2006. 219 pages. Paper.

Optional supplementary materials:

     2. Catford, J. C. A Practical Introduction to Phonetics (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics) 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. 248pp. Crane’s. Paper.
     The older (1988) edition is also acceptable. Full of clear descriptions of the sounds of the world’s languages, and numerous “introspective experiments” to help students learn how to produce, describe and classify the sounds.

    3. Smalley, William A. Manual of Articulatory Phonetics. Pasadena: William Carey Library. 512pp. Paper. Any edition is acceptable: 1963, 1968, or 1989.
     Out of print, but available from the library, and used copies are easily purchasable online; you may consider having a copy photocopied and bound. Uses outdated “Americanist” rather than standard IPA symbols, but once you’re used to it, it's not difficult to use. Comprehensive in its coverage of the sounds of the world’s languages, hints on how to produce them, and abundant exercises, recorded and otherwise. Audio files for the exercises available online here:

http://bach.arts.kuleuven.be/MOAP/

We will attempt to finish the entire Bickford textbook in the eight weeks of this portion of the course, so the coursework will be fairly intense and will require considerable motivation and commitment on the part of each student to learning and applying practical phonetics skills. Adjustments may be made according to learning needs of the students, or if the original syllabus turns out to be too ambitious for the time we have available.

Tentative syllabus (subject to change; the actual dates will depend on when Prof. Wan's leave begins):

October 19:

1. Bickford, Preface and chapters 1-5 (Sound Identification, Face Diagrams, Fricatives, Stops, Vowels), p. vii-41. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

Homework:

2. Three Tutorials on Voicing and Plosives
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2017.htm

     3. Master Pinyin Romanization: “Eight Lessons In Hanyu Pinyin” tutorial.
http://faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/rpan1/Related%20Links/HanYuPinYin-8.pdf

     4. Draw four mid-sagittal head diagrams on one A4 sheet of paper. Trace the first one from the book, then try drawing the rest freehand. Keep trying until they look like the ones in the book. Hand in next Tuesday, 10/26.

Practice resource:

     5. Audio files for Smalley's MOAP: Chapter Three: Voiced and voiceless fricatives. (Includes Sibilants)
http://bach.arts.kuleuven.be/MOAP/wav/03/

October 26:

1. Bickford, chapters 6-10 (Nasals, More Vowels, Tracking, Sibilants, Uses of Pitch Variation), p. 43-68. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

2. Pinyin quiz (1). Dictation: fricatives (2).

Homework:

     3. Phonological rules for English regular plurals and past tenses.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2034.htm

Practice resources:

     4. Audio files for Smalley's MOAP:

     a. Chapter Twelve: Vowels and vowels Glides.
http://bach.arts.kuleuven.be/MOAP/wav/12/

     b. Chapter Thirteen: Nasals.
http://bach.arts.kuleuven.be/MOAP/wav/13/

     c. Further chapters here (index):
http://bach.arts.kuleuven.be/MOAP/

November 2:

1. Bickford, chapters 11-15 (Stress (and tonic stress), Nasalized Vowels, Laterals, Length, Voiceless Vowels), p. 69-87. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

2. Second Pinyin quiz (3); English vowels and nasals dictation (4).

3. English regular plurals and past tenses; English compound and phrase stress.

Homework:

4. Phonemes and Allophones: Dark /l/.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2014.htm

     5. Schwa elision in English.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2032.htm

How the Echo Method works:

      6. Sesame Street video: A loaf of Bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNghp9tPXjo or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im4GwUD1UY8

Further reading in phonetics:

     7. Book Nook
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/Book%20Nook.htm

November 9:

1. Bickford, chapters 16-20 (Affricates, Glottal Consonants, Central Approximants, Review Exercises and Tables (I), p. 89-108. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

2. Third Pinyin quiz (5); Syllable count quiz (6); Compound stress quiz (7); English vowels and nasals dictation (8).

Homework:

     3. The sounds and allophones of Taiwan English I, II.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2027.htm
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2028.htm

     November 16:

     1. Bickford, chapters 20-21 (Palatal and Uvular Consonants, Syllabic Consonants and Prenasalization), p. 109-117. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

2. "Mid-term" test: Pinyin quiz, English vowels and nasals dictation, compound stress quiz, short answer questions on material covered so far, especially from the text book.

Homework:

3. Transcribing Mandarin Chinese.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2010.htm

November 23:

1. Bickford, chapters 22-28 (Transition and Release of Consonants, Speech Styles, Fronting and Retroflexion, Ejectives, Taps, Flaps and Trills, States of the Glottis, Implosives), p. 119-154. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

2. Mandarin Chinese transcription practice.

Homework:

3. The American 'tap' /ɾ/ and Canadian raising.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/Phonetics%20II%20page%20two.htm

4. Trills again – and /r/.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/Phonetics%20II%20page%20seven.htm

5. Ejectives, implosives and clicks.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/Phonetics%20II%20page%20four.htm

6. Transcribe the first two paragraphs of this practice passage from the China Times into Hanyu Pinyin and IPA.
http://news.chinatimes.com/domestic/0,5248,11050609x112010112200404,00.html

7. Transcribing Southern Min.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2010.htm

     November 30:

     1. Bickford, chapters 29-34 (Breathy Stops and Affricates, Pharyngeal and Epiglottal Consonants, Secondary Articulations, Consonant Clusters, Vowel Clusters, and Vowel Glides, Double Articulations, Tongue Root Placement and Vowels, Fortis and Lenis Consonants), p. 155-179. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

     For hints on how to produce epiglottal sounds, see p. 100-101 of Catford, J. C. A Practical Introduction to Phonetics (Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics) 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA, 2002. 248pp. Crane’s. Paper.

     Videos of pharyngeals and epiglottals:
http://web.uvic.ca/ling/research/pharynx.html

     2. Check Mandarin transcriptions.

     3. Southern Min transcription practice.

     Citation for the Taiwanese course introduced in class: Taiwanese: Book 1 (1984; revised 1987; 445pp, Paper); Book 2 (1985; 515pp, Paper); Book 3: Dialogs (1988; 400pp, Paper). Maryknoll Language Service Center 瑪利諾會語言服務中心, P.O. Box 149, 120 San Min Road, Section 1, Taichung 台中市 40099 三民路120號郵政信箱149, Taiwan 40099. Cassette tapes available. May be out of print; check at libraries if interested and make copies of the books and tapes if needed.

Entering tone syllables 入聲字 in Chinese: Please see the following page for links to IPA tables for various Han dialects, including Southern Min; this page also has a link to a table that shows you how to recognize entering tone words based on Mandarin syllable structure:
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/intro%20page%2010.htm

December 7:

1. Bickford, chapters 35-39 (Controlled and Ballistic Syllables, Clicks, Palatography, Miscellaneous Final Details, Review Exercises and Tables (II)), p. 181-210. Written and oral exercises for each chapter.

2. Questions and review.

3. Go over IPA transcriptions of Southern Min.

Homework:

4. Ejectives, implosives and clicks.
http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/Phonetics%20II%20page%20four.htm

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