Linguistics: Phonology

Surveys the study of the organization of sounds and internal word structure, covering a range of phenomena: alternations, constraints, tone, and more. Prerequisite: LING 1500.

Prereqs enforced by the system: LING 1500 PACE students with permission and override

This course provides an introduction to the linguistic subfield of phonology, the study of how speech sounds—or gestural parameters for signed languages—are stored and processed, and therefore how those sounds/parameters function as a system in a language. We will focus on phonological procedures (“rules”) and derivations, morphophonological alternations, prosody, and more. We will also become familiar with alternative approaches to phonology, including constraint- and usage-based ones.

With consistent, hard work in this course, you should be able to: -Explain how phonetics and phonology relate to one another -Discuss how phonetics and phonology extend to and are enhanced by signed languages -Contrast theories of phonological representation and categorization -Conduct introductory-level phonemic analyses in a variety of languages -Analyze phonological alternations cross-linguistically -Order phonological procedures, or “rules,” to derive phonetic forms successfully -Understand how phonological processes often interact with morphosyntactic ones -Find/cite examples from the phonologies of understudied, non-Indo European languages -Know the basics of prosody, especially stress and intonation -Become familiar with various approaches to phonology, including key debates in the field

Homework exercises: 40% Quizzes: 30% Summary/responses: 30%