. – Lingua inglese 1 (lingua e fonologia)
Prof. Amanda Clare Murphy
COURSE AIMS
This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts of the phonetics and phonology of contemporary English. Students will learn in particular about articulatory phonetics and should understand how they produce the sounds of English. The course also introduces the phonetic and phonological characteristics of varieties of English spoken in Great Britain, the United States and some other English-speaking countries.
COURSE CONTENT
1. The sounds of English – which English?
2. The organs of speech
3. The International Phonetic Alphabet
4. Describing and classifying sounds: Vowels and Consonants
5. Phonemes, minimal pairs, allophones, the syllable.
6. Word stress, primary and secondary.
7. Connected speech, weak forms, elision, liaison, assimilation.
8. Aspects of suprasegmental prosody: stress, rhythm, intonation.
9. Daniel Jones and the English Pronouncing Dictionary
10. Varieties of English: Standard British English from the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
READING LIST
Obligatory:
The notes and slides from the course.
D. Jones, Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2011, 18th ed. P. Roach-J.Hartman-J. Setter (eds), including the introductory essays.
AND Either
D.Crystal, English as a Global Language, Cambridge University Press, 2003 (2nd ed.).
OR
S. Horobin, Does Spelling Matter? Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013.
Other bibliography may be indicated during the course.
Advised:
For Pronunciation Practice: M. Hancock, English Pronunciation in Use (with CD-ROM), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003.
Further reading:
P. Forchini, The Real Professor(s) Higgins, EDUCatt, Milano, 2015
P. Trudgill-J. Hannah, International English: a guide to the varieties of standard English, Arnold, London, 2002, 4th ed.
TEACHING METHOD
Lectures, practical sessions in Laboratorio Melzi, individual work with the CD-ROM from the dictionary and other online resources.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Students may take a partial test on Blackboard during the last week of term and then proceed to the oral exam, which is conducted in English. In the first part of the oral exam, students discuss the contents of the general works on the bibliography (Crystal or Horobin). In the second part, they must read from the pronunciation dictionary that they bring to the exam and show they are familiar with how it works, as well as be able to read the IPA, and pronounce the symbols correctly. In the last part, students must be able to present the topics dealt with in the course and give a critical interpretation of them.
At the oral exam, students are required to show:
1) their knowledge of the course bibliography;
2) their ability to pronounce English phonemes and use the appropriate terminology correctly;
3) their ability to make links within the course program and discuss the course contents.
The final mark reflects
a) the average score in the written and oral language exams
b) the score on the interim Blackboard written test
c) performance in the oral exam.
NOTES
The course is taught in English.
Students must enrol in the 2017-18 course on the Blackboard platform to be able to access course slides, practice materials, and take the exam.
The final mark for English Language I (Language and Phonology) (12 CFU) represents both the language exams (i.e. the written and oral prove intermedie) and the English linguistics exam for this course (Phonetics and Phonology). With the exception of incoming Erasmus students from other universities, students must pass the language exams before they take the linguistics exam. For Erasmus students, the Phonetics and Phonology course (30 hours) is worth 5 CFU.
Students wishing to talk to Prof. Murphy should either come up after lessons or go to her office hours as indicated on her UC webpage. Office hours are weekly in term time and take place either in her office (Centro Studi sul Turismo) in Brescia or in the Centro di Linguistica dell’Università Cattolica (both on the second floor in Via Trieste).