Theoretical Phonetics seminars 2 year

Theoretical Phonetics, 2^nd course

Seminar 1

Phonetics as a Science

Outline

1. Definition of the term “phonetics”

2. The historical development of English Phonetics

3. The mechanism of communication act

4. Speech production and organs

5. Branches of phonetics

   1. Articulatory phonetics

      1. Places of Articulation

      2. Manners of Articulation

      3. The Articulation of Vowel Sounds

   2. Acoustic phonetics. Sound waves

   3. Auditory phonetics.

6. Phonology

7. Components of phonetic system

8. The Accent

Literature:

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

p. 1-8

Ladefoged P., Johnson K. A course in phonetics

p. 1-29

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

p. 6-17

Караванова, «Курс теоретической фонетики английского языка»

Seminar 2

Outline

1. Conception of the phoneme

2. Three aspects of the phoneme

3. Relevant and irrelevant features of the phoneme (types of phonological and phonetic mistakes)

4. Main trends in phoneme theory

5. Methods of phonological analysis

6. Transcription

   1. The basic types of transcription

   2. The transcription of consonants

   3. The transcription of vowels

   4. Consonants and vowels charts

Literature:

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

The Phoneme. – p.39-59

Ladefoged P., Johnson K., A course in phonetics

Phonology and Phonetic transcription – p. 33-48

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

The Phoneme – p. 38-47

Seminar 3

The System of English Consonants

Outline

1. The system of English phonemes

2. Classification of English consonants

   1. According to the degree of noise

   2. According to the manner of articulation

   3. According to the place of articulation and the active organ of speech

   4. According to the force of articulation

   5. According to the position of the soft palate

3. Modifications of consonants in connected speech

   1. Classification of modifications

   2. Assimilation

      1. According to the place of articulation

      2. According to the manner of articulation

      3. According to the voicing value

      4. According to the lip position

      5. According to the position of the soft palate

   3. Elision (deletion)

   4. Epenthesis (sound insertion)

   5. Metathesis

Seminar 4

The system of English Vowels

Vowels Modifications

Outline

1. Vowel phonemes of the English language

   1. Transcription (L. 85)

   2. Cardinal vowels (L. 217)

   3. Secondary cardinal vowels (L. 222)

2. The main criteria of classificatory description

   1. Classification according to the stability of articulation (monophthongs, diphthongs, diphthongoids and triphthongs)

   2. Classification according to the tongue position

   3. Classification according to the lip position

   4. Classification according to the character of the vowel end

   5. Classification according to the vowel length or quantity

   6. Classification according to the tenseness

3. Modifications of vowels in connected speech

   1. Rules of vowel allophones (L. 100)

   2. Rhotic vowels (L. 94)

   3. Unstressed syllables (L. 96)

   4. Secondary articulatory gestures (L. 234)

   5. Assimilation

   6. Vowel reduction

Literature:

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

p. 19-26

Ladefoged P., Johnson K., A course in phonetics

p. 85-106, 217-241

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

p. 78-100

Seminar 5

English Syllabification

Outline

1. Definition of the syllable. The nature of the syllable

2. Different approaches to the syllable

   1. Expiratory theory

   2. Sonority theory

   3. Muscular tension theory

   4. Loudness theory

3. Syllable formation. Types of the syllable

   1. Strong and weak syllables

   2. The schwa vowel

   3. Close front and close back vowels

   4. Syllable consonants

4. Phonotactics

5. Rules of syllable division

Literature:

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

p. 70-92

Ladefoged P., Johnson K., A course in phonetics

p. 243-249

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

p. 112-121

Practice:

Roach P., Audio Unit 9. Weak Syllables

Seminar 6

Word Stress in English

Outline

1. The nature of word stress

2. The principles of word stress

3. The placement of word stress

4. Degrees of words stress

5. Different tendencies in word stress

6. Rules of word stress in English

   1. In two-syllable words

   2. In three-syllable words

   3. In complex words

   4. In compound words

7. Word stress and sentence stress

Literature:

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

p. 93-111

Ladefoged P., Johnson K., A course in phonetics

p. 249-253

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

p. 121-135

Practice:

Roach P., Audio Unit 10. Word stress

Audio Unit 11. Complex word stress

Seminar 7 (1)

English Intonation

Outline

1. The definition of intonation. Tone and tone languages.

2. The intonation pattern (tone unit). The structure of intonation pattern (tone unit)

   1. The nucleus

      1. Fall-rise and rise-fall tones

      2. Complex tones and pitch heights

      3. Some functions of English tones

   2. The tail

   3. The head (high and low heads)

   4. The pre-head

3. Problems in analyzing the form of intonation

4. Autosegmental treatment of intonation

Literature:

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

p. 150-182

Ladefoged P., Johnson K., A course in phonetics

p. 254-261

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

p. 135-163

Practice:

Roach P., Audio Unit 15. Tones

Audio Unit 16. The tone-unit

Seminar 7 (2)

English Intonation

Outline

1. Two basic tunes

2. Prosodic constituents of the intonation

   1. Sentence stress

   2. Tempo and pausation

   3. Loudness

   4. Timbre (voice quality)

   5. Rhythm

3. Phrasing and textual organization

4. Notation

5. Functions of intonation

6. Stylistic use of intonation

Literature:

Roach P., English Phonetics and Phonology

p. 192-204

Ladefoged P., Johnson K., A course in phonetics

p. 254-261

Sokolova M.A., English Phonetics. A theoretical course

p. 135-163

Practice:

Roach P., Audio Unit 17. Intonation

Audio Unit 18. Intonation