Sound and Voice

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• set and monitor goals, reflect on your own learning, and learn from feedback
• communicate effectively and confidently in a written genre
• work effectively to carry out tasks, solve problems and exchange ideas
• analyse phonetic data and express the results cogently and concisely
• produce writing in appropriate genres and to required conventions, including referencing and identification
• take notes and keep records; abstract and synthesise information, and organise the results appropriately
• plan and organise your learning through self-management; exercise independence and initiative

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the articulatory and acoustic phonetics and phonology of contemporary English
• the analysis of spoken discourse to elicit phonetic variation
• the relationship between language and the mind; speech production and perception; transcription, the acoustic signal and speech science
• the role of language as a tool of communication; speaker-listener theory, hearing impairment, lip reading and speech recognition

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• describe the basic concepts of speech science as far as they are relevant to understanding the elements of sound production and recognition
• isolate and recognise sounds in relation to articulatory and acoustic features
• transcribe English sounds using the IPA
• develop competencies with general computer software (Audacity) and specialist phonetics software (Praat).
• use computer software to analyse the acoustic properties of sounds
• demonstrate a basic understanding of how lip reading complements auditory speech perception

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• engage with and apply a critical knowledge, understanding and analysis of key topics and concepts inherent to the theory and practice of English phonetics; formulate and reflect on key critical questions pertaining to an advanced understanding of phonetics
• collect, analyse and present empirical phonetic data in appropriate formats
• formulate and defend personal judgements clearly and persuasively on the basis of articulatory and acoustic evidence
• define, present and exemplify theories and concepts of English acoustic and articulatory phonetics
• select, synthesise and focus information and data from a range of source material pertaining to acoustic and articulatory phonetics
• understand, engage with and apply methods used in phonetic study

This module is intended for those who have studied basic phonetics and phonology in your first year. It comprises more advanced articulatory phonetics and an introduction to acoustic phonetics (the study of the sound-waves corresponding to speech-sounds), and its application to issues in language learning. There may be an emphasis on challenging certain assumptions in phonetics (e.g. the cardinal vowel system, the IPA classification of consonants, the idea that speech consists, on the phonetic level, of a sequence of discreet modules). We will move on from literature aimed at the general reader or the beginner and familiarise you with the more technical styles of writing commonly used by specialists in the field.

Teaching methods include:

• Weekly lecture sessions
• Weekly seminar sessions
• Fortnightly practical workshops

Learning activities include:

• Independent preparatory reading and further study
• Practical activities and tasks (transcription, spectrographic analysis).

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.