Browse Hierarchy LIN7010: Sociophonetics

In this module students will discover phonetic methodology which can be used to investigate sociolinguistic variation and change. Through training in the phonetic and phonemic transcription of various languages and their varieties, as well as in the acoustic analysis of speech phenomena, students will learn to objectively measure and quantify phonetic variation and change. Both segmental and prosodic analyses of speech will be examined. For example, students will conduct acoustic analyses into the acquisition of phonetic norms in a second language and how these impact a person's native language pronunciation. We will also reflect on socially significant pronunciation norms, as shared by groups of speakers, and discuss how and why such norms affect our understanding of what it means to speak "correctly" in English and other languages. The ultimate goal of this module is to equip students with an integrated understanding and set of methodological tools for phonetic studies into sociolinguistic variation and change.