. – Lingua inglese 1 (lingua e fonologia)
PROF. AMANDA CLARE MURPHY
COURSE AIMS
This 30-hour 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 a few other
English-speaking countries.
COURSE CONTENT
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The sounds of English – which English?
The organs of speech
Describing and classifying sounds: Vowels and Consonants
Phonemes, minimal pairs, allophones, the syllable.
Word stress, primary and secondary.
Connected speech, weak forms, elision, liaison, assimilation.
Aspects of suprasegmental prosody: stress, rhythm, intonation.
Daniel Jones and the English Pronouncing Dictionary
Varieties of English: Standard British English from the United Kingdom
and the United States of America.
READING LIST
Obligatory:
D. JONES, Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
2011, 18th ed. P. Roach-J.Hartman-J. Setter (eds), including the introductory essays.
The notes and slides from the course.
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, Description of American English Phonology, EDUCatt, Milano, 2013
P. FORCHINI, The Real Mr 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
The oral exam for this course, conducted in English, is divided into two parts. In the first
part, students must read from the pronunciation dictionary that they bring to the exam. They
must show they are familiar with how it works, as well as be able to read the IPA, and
pronounce the symbols correctly. In the second 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 ability to pronounce the phonemes and use the appropriate terminology
correctly;
2) their knowledge of the course topics;
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 2015-16 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).