Admission requirements
Basic knowledge of phonetics and phonology is assumed. You are preferably acquainted with the contents of a general phonetics textbook, such as Rietveld & van Heuven (2009) Algemene Fonetiek [General Phonetics] (Coutinho, Bussum), Ladefoged & Johnson (2011) A Course in Phonetics, or Zsiga (2013). The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. You are recommended to take the course Methods in Speech Processing (5194KTH30) and Methods in Experimental Linguistics (5194KTH29) if you have not completed any course of a similar nature.
Description
The primary objective of this course is to introduce key theoretical advancements and experimental methods in phonetic research, with a focus on sound patterns and their communicative functions in spoken language.
The central theme of this year is speech melody. All languages use melody in speech, primarily via rises and falls in voice pitch. Such pitch variation is pervasive, offering a broad spectrum of nuanced meanings to sentences. For example, saying "yes" with a rising pitch implies a question (rather than an affirmation). Melody is essential for speech communication in social interaction. In some languages, pitch differences also distinguish word meanings, making melody crucial both for sentence-level nuance and word-level contrast.
Students will explore speech melody at both the word and sentence level across typologically diverse languages. The course includes hands-on exercises to analyze speech melody experimentally, along with critical readings and discussions of current research on its cognitive representation and processing.
As a final assignment, students will design a research proposal, individually or in groups, on a topic related to speech melody. The knowledge gained from this course will be relevant not only to phonetics but also to broader linguistic research, language learning and teaching, speech pathology, and technology (e.g., human-machine interaction).
Course objectives
After taking this class, you should be able to:
Understand key concepts and fundamental questions in speech communication research.
Learn how to use experiments to address scientific questions.
Evaluate research articles by looking at their goals, methods, results, and conclusions.
Give an oral presentation on a scientific paper and provide feedback on others’ presentations.
Summarize and synthesize existing literature to formulate research questions of your interest.
Design a well-controlled experiment, which should include a sound research question supported by a relevant literature review, a detailed description of the research method, an explanation of the hypothesis and predictions, as well as the interpretation of possible outcomes.
Write a research hproposal describing your experiment.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment Method
Assessment
- Homework (20%)
- Presentation (30%)
- Final project (50%)
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
Students who fail the course may resit the final assignment.
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
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats