Browse Hierarchy LIN5215: Phonetics II: Acoustic Analysis of Speech

In this module, students will be introduced to some of the key acoustic techniques used to examine segmental elements of speech. As such, this module focuses on the smallest physical properties of speech which ultimately give rise to meaning. Much of the module will involve lab work and students will be given the opportunity to work both with guidance and independently on assignments. For example, students will undertake a durational analysis of voice onset time in the waveform and a frequency analysis of formants in the spectrogram. Such analyses will build on knowledge of the Source-Filter Theory and on articulatory correlates of the acoustic signal. Students will become confident in identifying how biological, linguistic, social, and psychological factors underlie variation in the acoustic signal. By the end of the module students will be equipped to perform independent acoustic analyses into segmental elements of speech. This module is a prerequisite for Describing and Measuring Prosody.