PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

The course is one of the core educational activities of the MA course in Language Sciences, curricula in Language and Cognition, and Linguistics for Deafness and Language and Learning Disorders. It is one of the linguistic disciplines promoting metalinguistic awareness, through the acquisition of models of speech and their application to the languages spoken by the student. In particular, the course aims to illustrate the principles and rules of phonetic description on the one hand, and, on the other, to present the fundamentals of phonology, in order to promote understanding of the nature and features of speech sounds and how they are exploited to convey linguistic meaning.

Students will acquire, on the one hand, the fundamental principles and tools of phonetic description, with particular attention to articulatory phenomena and their acoustic correlates; on the other hand, they will learn the fundamental concepts of phonological analysis. They will thus gain an understanding of how speech sounds are produced and perceived and will reflect on how they are used in speech.
The analytical tools acquired will enable students, first and foremost, to understand the phonetic and phonological structure of English. From a contrastive perspective, the analysis will also be extended to other languages, including Italian.
Through practical work in acoustic analysis and articulatory description, students will develop the ability to analyse speech critically, thereby supporting the acquisition of pronunciation in the languages they study.

No specific previous knowledge is required.

Articulation. Experimental methods and tools in articulatory phonetics
The vocal tract. Speech production, phonation, and articulatory coordination
Consonants across the world’s languages
Vowels and vowel systems
Phonetic transcription
Acoustic phonetics: duration, frequency, and amplitude. Source–filter theory
Digital signal processing
Waveforms, spectra, and spectrograms. Acoustic cues to vowels and consonants
Software for acoustic analysis: Praat
The auditory system and speech perception. Units of speech perception. Phonetics and phonology
Contrast, phonemes, allophones, and complementary distribution
Phonotactics and alternations. Distinctive features and natural classes
The prosodic hierarchy and suprasegmentals: stress, tone, and intonation
Variation and sound change. Theories of L2 phonetic acquisition

Required reading:
Zsiga, E. C. (2024). The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Additional reading:
Wayland, R. (2019). Phonetics: A Practical Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
Marotta, G., & Vanelli, L. (2021). Fonologia e prosodia dell’italiano. Roma: Carocci.
Maturi, P. (2009). I suoni delle lingue, i suoni dell'italiano. Bologna: Mulino.
Krämer, M. (2009). The Phonology of Italian. Oxford University Press.

Assessment is based on an oral examination. Students will be required to demonstrate that they have acquired the theoretical concepts of the discipline and are able to present the course content in clear and appropriate manner. They should also be able to characterize speech sounds from an articulatory perspective, produce accurate phonetic transcriptions, analyze and interpret acoustic representations of the speech signal (waveforms and spectrograms), and identify phonetic and phonological regularities in linguistic data.

oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Marks from 18 to 22 correspond to a pass level; from 23 to 26 good; from 27 to 30 cum laude very good/excellent

Lectures and targeted exercises on the topics covered in the course. Active student participation is encouraged.

Il corso sarà erogato in lingua inglese.