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LN4011: PHONOLOGIES OF ENGLISHES (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04


Course Overview

This course aims to introduce students to a range of phonological approaches, beginning with the classical phonemicist approach, which students have encountered in pre-honours courses, and moving on to consider topics including the role of syllables and metre and the development of models in generative phonology including differences between rule-based phonologies and constraint-based theories.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term First Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr William S. Barras

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Programme Level 4
  • Language And Linguistics (LN) (Studied)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

We know that phonology focuses on the patterns and structure in the use of sounds in language, but how does this work with a real language such as English? How justified are we in talking about English as a single language? Should we refer to Englishes? And if so, should we be really be discussing 'phonologies'?

This course considers several key phonological phenomena found in varieties of English including a focus on segments (phonemes) as we have done in earlier courses, but also looking at suprasegmental aspects such as syllabic structure and the role of stress and metrical feet. We will also look more closely at realisational processes: we've previously discussed allophones but we will now consider other approaches to working with the sort of patterns that can be observed in a speaker's phonetic output.

Throughout the course we will consider issues that arise when we deal with variation between the varieties of a language, and also general issues in theoretical phonology. Focusing on a set of fairly familiar accents of English from Scotland, England, North America and the Southern Hemisphere, we will investigate characteristics of these particular accents, and also a number of key concepts from phonological theory, including the role of rule ordering in some models and other approaches to modelling phonological processes, such as constraint ranking. 


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Seminar Assessment Mark

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 10
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Students will receive written feedback on their seminar performance at the end of the course.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Students will receive written feedback on this data analysis assignment, as well as oral feedback from the course tutor if requested.

Word Count 1000
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 50
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

Students will receive written feedback on this essay, as well as oral feedback from the course tutor if requested.

Word Count 2000
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualUnderstandStudents will be able to discuss the theoretical questions raised by any attempt to describe the phonologies of a range of accents of English.
ConceptualApplyStudents will be able to apply key ideas from phonological theory in order to analyse notable features of the phonology of English.
ConceptualEvaluateStudents will be able to evaluate the implications of using data from a range of English accents for general phonological theory.
ReflectionEvaluateStudents will be able to engage with current research questions in English phonology (and in cross-linguistic phonology more generally).

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