Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education Deputy Ministry for Teachers Colleges English Departments UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM COURSE SYLLABUS Course Title: Phonetics and Phonology Course Code: : Eng 356 Number of credit hours: 2 Instructor: Office hours: Website: Ahmed Abdelshafy Abdallah As announced in the classroom faculty.ksu.edu.sa/75189 I- Course Description: This course introduces students to basic practical and descriptive and descriptive levels of the English sound system and to such principles in other languages. As regards phonetics, the course covers the vocal tract and its function in producing speech sounds. Consonants and vowels are described in articulatory terms, and students are taught phonetic transcription. Moreover, attention is drawn to the problems that speakers of Arabic have learning English pronunciation. With regard to phonology, on the other hand, students study the contrastive sounds of language - phonemes- as well as the phonological processes whereby the pronunciation of such sounds is affected when grouped with other sounds. In addition, the course covers other phonological issues, such as phoneme distribution, syllable structure, and prosodic features. II- Rationale: This course's significance arises from the fact that pronunciation is considered to be one of the most important aspects of learning a language. This is because pronunciation errors may lead to confusion and total misunderstanding. These errors may be avoided when students learn the sounds of the language they are learning. This includes learning sounds in isolation as well as in connected speech. III-Course Objectives: By the end of this course, English majors are expected to be able to: 1. learn a number of technical terms related to the course. 2. describe the production of English sounds. 3. differentiate between consonants and vowels. 4. pronounce English sounds in isolation and in connected speech. 5. differentiate between consonants and vowels in all word-positions. 6. distinguish phonemes and allophones. 7. know the structure of the English syllable. 8. know the different types of stress in English. 9. distinguish strong and weak forms. 10. know different connected speech processes, such as assimilation, elision, linking, etc. 11. know the different intonation patterns of English. 1 IV-Calendar, Course Contents and Assignment Specifications: Time Topic Assignments Week 1 Students are to: First session: Introduction to the 1. acquaint themselves with the basic Course issues of the course. Second session: Continuation of 2. acquaint themselves with the technical the first session terms to be used in the course. Week 2 Students are to: First session: The Production of 1. know the different organs of speech Speech Sounds and their function in sound production. Second session: Continuation of 2. know the different speech production the first session mechanisms. Week 3 Students are to: First session: English Short 1. learn the production of English short Vowels vowels. Second session: Continuation of 2. listen to these vowels, and practice the first session pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these vowels in all word positions and transcribe them. Week 4 Students are to: First session: English Long 1. learn the production of English long Vowels vowels. Second session: Continuation of 2. listen to these vowels, and practice the first session pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these vowels in all word positions and transcribe them. Week 5 Students are to: First session: English Diphthongs 1. learn the production of English Second session: Continuation of diphthongs. the first session 2. listen to these sounds, and practice pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these diphthongs in all word positions and transcribe them. Week 6 Students are to: First session: English Triphthongs 1. learn the production of English Second session: Continuation of diphthongs. the first session 2. listen to these sounds, and practice pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these triphthongs in all word positions and transcribe them. Week 7 Students are to: First session: English Plosives 1. learn the production of English Second session: Continuation of plosives. the first session 2. listen to these sounds, and practice pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these plosives in all word positions and transcribe them. 2 Week 8 Week 9 First session: English Fricatives and Affricates Second session: Continuation of the first session First session: English Nasals and Approximants Second session: Continuation of the first session Week 10 First session: The Phoneme Second session: Continuation of the first session Week 11 First session: The Syllable Second session: Continuation of the first session Week 12 First session: Stress Second session: Continuation of the first session Week 13 First session: weak Forms Second session: Continuation of the first session Week 14 First session: Connected Speech Second session: Continuation of the first session Week 15 First session: Intonation Second session: Continuation of the first session 3 Students are to: 1. learn the production of English fricatives and affricates. 2. listen to these sounds, and practice pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these sounds in all word positions and transcribe them. Students are to: 1. learn the production of English nasals and approximants. 2. listen to these sounds, and practice pronouncing them in class. 3. attempt to provide examples which contain these sounds in all word positions and transcribe them. Students are to: 1. distinguish phonemes and allophones. 2. attempt to provide examples of minimal pairs which contain phonemes and allophones in English and other languages. Students are to: 1. distinguish strong and weak syllables. 2. distinguish open and closed syllables. 3. attempt to provide examples from English and other languages. Students are to: 1. practice different stress patterns in simple words. 2. practice different stress patterns in complex words. 3. practice patterns of sentence stress. 4. attempt to provide examples from English and other languages. Students are to: 1. distinguish strong and weak forms. 2. attempt to provide examples from English and other languages. Students are to: 1. distinguish different connected speech processes, such as assimilation, elision, linking, etc. 2. attempt to provide examples from English and other languages. Students are to: 1. distinguish the different intonation patterns of English. 2. distinguish the functions of these intonation patterns. 3. attempt to provide examples from English and other languages. V- Evaluation: 2 In-term written exams Final written exam Total 40 marks 60 marks 100 marks VI- Instructional Procedures: Lecturing and discussion. VII- General Course Requirements: Students are expected to: 1. attend classes regularly. 2. take part in classroom discussions and practicals. 3. listen regularly to English sounds as well as utterances recorded on tapes. 4. submit assignments on time. 5. sit for the midterm and final exams. VIII- Required texts: - Roach, P. (1991). English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge: CUP. IX- References 1. O'Conner, J.D. (1986). Phonetics, London: Pelican. 2. O'Connor, J. D. (1987). Better English Pronunciation. Cambridge: CUP. 3. Clark, J. & Yallop, C. (1992). An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. London: Blackwell. 4. Ladefoged, P. (1993). A Course in Phonetics. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 5. Gimson, A. C. (1997). An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. London: Arnold. X- Internet sites for teaching English as a second or foreign language: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. http://www.celt.stir.ac.uk/staff/HIGDOX/STEPHEN/PHONO/PHONOLG.HTM http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/~jcoleman/PHONOLOGY1.htm http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/ling001/phonology.html http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/lehre/teaching/2004-SS/GK-Phon/ http://www.ling.hawaii.edu/faculty/stampe/phon.html 4