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Experimental Phonetics

Vak
2017-2018

Admission requirements

Basic knowledge of phonetics and phonology is assumed.

Description

This course will focus on the theoretical advancements and experimental methods in phonetic research, which concerns the linguistic patterns and communicative functions of spoken language. Students will critically read and discuss a series of articles related to topics including phonetic category in first and second language, representation and processing of pronunciation variation in connected speech, as well as prosodic encoding of information structure. As a final assignment, students will develop a research proposal which should address open issues within the context of our focus research areas.

Course objectives

After taking this class, students should be able to:

  • understand the concepts and fundamental questions in several specific research areas concerning oral speech communication.

  • learn how experimental techniques can be employed to answer a question of scientific interest.

  • critically evaluate original research articles (their goals, methods, findings, and interpretations) in the area of experimental phonetics.

  • give an oral presentation on a scientific paper to a group of peers and to evaluate peer presentations.

  • summarize and synthesize the literature so as to identify relevant research questions of their own interest.

And for those very motivated, they will also be encouraged to:

  • 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 up the experimental design as a research proposal.

Timetable

The timetable is available on the MA Linguistics website

Mode of instruction

Seminar

Course Load

  • time spent on attending lectures and seminars: 26 hours

  • time for studying the compulsory literature: 130 hours

  • time to prepare for the exam and/or write a paper (including reading/research): 124 hours

Assessment Method

Oral presentations: 40%
Final project: 50%
Class attendance/participation: 10%

Resit: students who fail the course may resit the final assignment.

Blackboard

This course is supported by Blackboard.

Reading list

Students will be required to read original publications published in professional journals.

Registration

Enrolment in uSis is obligatory. If you have any questions, please contact the student administration, tel. 071 5272144 or mail: ma-linguistics@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

When registering, students that are registered for the specialisation that this course belongs to, or the Research Master, take priority. The deadline for registration is August 15. All other students should contact the coordinator of studies

Contact

Please contact Student administration van Eyckhof for questions.