Admission requirements
Basic knowledge of phonetics and phonology is assumed. You are preferably acquainted with the contents of a general phonetics textbook, such as Ashby & Maidment (2005) “Introducing Phonetic Science”. You are strongly recommended to take the course Methods in Speech Processing (5194KTH21) and/or Analysis and Synthesis of Speech (5512VECG9) if you have not completed any course of a similar nature
Description
This course is designed to train you in the use of analytical methods relevant to experimental phonetics and phonology, and to deepen your understanding of theoretical and practical issues in the field. The central theme of the course is prosody, both at the level of the word and of the utterance (such as lexical tone and intonation). In the first half of the course, we will cover prosodic phenomena in a series of seminars, and we will use relevant software (such as Praat and RStudio) to analyze speech, visualize speech data, and to manipulate prosodic features for experimental purposes.
In the latter half of the course, you will read, discuss, and present a scientific paper from the experimental phonetics/phonology literature. As a final assignment, you will write a research proposal, and apply your newly acquired theoretical knowledge and technical skills.
Course objectives
After taking this class, you should be able to:
Understand key theoretical and applied concepts related to speech sciences.
Learn how to use relevant experimental techniques to answer a research question.
Critically evaluate original research articles in experimental phonetics.
Orally present a scientific paper to your peers and evaluate each other’s presentations.
Summarize and synthesize existing literature to formulate your own research questions.
Design a well-controlled experimental methodology.
Formulate solid research questions and hypotheses.
Write up the above in a research proposal.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Assessment Method
Coursework (exercises) (30%)
Scientific presentation (20%)
Final research proposal (50%)
Resit
Students who fail the course may re-submit the final assignment and a higher grade (where applicable) will replace the earlier grade. All other graded components can only be submitted once.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Announced in class. You are preferably acquainted with the contents of a general phonetics textbook, such as Ashby & Maidment (2005) “Introducing Phonetic Science”.
Registration
Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar
For questions regarding enrollment please contact the Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats E-mail address Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats: osz-oa-reuvensplaats@hum.leidenuniv.nl