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Advanced Phonetics - LAN00069M

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  • Department: Language and Linguistic Science
  • Module co-ordinator: Prof. Dominic Watt
  • Credit value: 10 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
    • See module specification for other years: 2021-22

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module aims:

to give students an understanding of the acoustics of speech, how speech acoustics relates to production and perception in articulatory terms

to equip students with the ability to reason about speech based on a range of phonetic evidence and using theoretical as well as practical tools

to equip students with the ability to design simple but effective data collection for further analysis

Module learning outcomes

You will know and understand the essentials of the acoustics of speech, including:

Sound as an acoustic and auditory phenomenon

The source-filter theory of speech production

Acoustic properties of the source and filter

Articulation and resonance

Common ways of representing speech acoustically: waveforms, spectrograms, spectra, F0 traces

Contextual effects on speech sounds (illustrated through English)

How the acoustics of speech relates to articulation

You will know and understand the essentials of speech perception, including:

The basics of hearing

Acoustic cues to speech sounds

Categorical perception

You will know and understand some of the issues in data collection, including:

Making recordings

Sampling in digital recordings

Designing materials for recording

You will be able to do the following things:

Reason about speech production and perception, combining articulatory, acoustic and auditory evidence

Use software for the acoustic analysis of speech, and to produce images for insertion into documents

Design a simple acoustic phonetic study, taking ethics into account

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Online Exam - 24 hrs (Centrally scheduled)
Open exam		 8 hours 100

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Online Exam - 24 hrs (Centrally scheduled)
Open exam		 8 hours 100

Module feedback

Written feedback within 20 working days.

Indicative reading

Gloria Borden, Katherine S. Harris, Lawrence J. Raphael: Speech Science Primer

Nigel Hewlett, Janet Beck: An introduction to the Science of Phonetics

Keith Johnson. Acoustic and Auditory Phonetics (3rd edition), Wiley-Blackwell, 2012

J. M. Pickett: The Acoustics of Speech Communication


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.