Catalan Phonetics
Code: 100699 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2501801 Catalan and Spanish Studies | OT | 3 | 1 |
| 2501801 Catalan and Spanish Studies | OT | 4 | 1 |
| 2501902 English and Catalan Studies | OT | 3 | 1 |
| 2501902 English and Catalan Studies | OT | 4 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Daniel Recasens Vives
- Email:
- daniel.recasens@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- No
Prerequisites
To have basic knowledge of the phonetics, phonology and morphology of the Catalan language, and a certain mastery of the phonetic transcription technique.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objectives of the phonetics course are as follows:
(i) that the student can identify the acoustic and articulatory characteristics of the sounds of Catalan, in spectrograms and palatograms, respectively;
(ii) that he/she can transcribe phonetically fragments of different dialectal varieties;
(iii) that he/she can discern which phonetic properties are best suited for a formal oral text and may master them at the practical level.
Competences
- Catalan and Spanish Studies
- Analyse, with the help of the concepts of linguistic theory and contributions of applied linguistics when appropriate, the main properties phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic Catalan language, its evolution throughout history its current structure.
- Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- English and Catalan Studies
- Analyse, with the help of the concepts of linguistic theory and contributions of applied linguistics when appropriate, the main properties phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic Catalan language, its evolution throughout history its current structure.
- Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply appropriate and thoughtfully prescriptive principles of oral and written standard Catalan.
- Knowing the articulatory characteristics of the Catalan sounds.
- Master oral and written expression in Catalan.
- Producing a written text that is grammatically and lexically correct.
- Producing an oral text that is grammatically and lexically correct.
- Properly apply the knowledge gained to data collection and management of documentary sources application to the study of Catalan language and literature.
- Work independently in the synchronic and diachronic study of Catalan language and literature.
Content
1. Introduction. Articulatory phonetics and acoustic phonetics. Articulatory and acoustic properties of linguistic sounds.
The International Phonetic Alphabet, with adaptation to the sounds of Catalan; wide phonetic transcription and
narrow phonetic transcription. Coarticulation. Phoneme and allophones. Typology of phonetic and phonological
processes (elision, assimilation, fusion, epenthesis). The syllable. Hiatus, diphthong and triphthong. Prosody;
accent and intonation.
2. Vowels of Catalan. Articulatory and acoustic characteristics (formant structure, duration, intensity, fundamental
frequency). Vowel systems of the dialects of Catalan; vowel spaces and dispersion. Alternations between stressed
mid vowels. Historical evolution of Catalan vowels. Mechanisms of vowel reduction; exceptions. Vowel harmony.
3. Underlying diphthongs of Catalan (rising, falling). Vowel diphthongization within the word domain. Processes
of vowel diphthongization, elision and fusion across a word boundary. The Mallorcan intervocalic /j/.
4. Consonants of Catalan.
4a. Consonant clusters in syllable onset and syllable coda. Syllabic grouping of consonants.
4b.Oral stops. Differences between consonants of different places of articulation in terms of closing phase, burst release,
vowel transitions and voicing. Contextual lenition and final devoicing processes. The stops /k, g/ in Majorcan Catalan.
4c. Nasal stops. Nasal murmur, release and vowel transitions. Vowel nasalization. Elision of word-final /n/.
4d. Laterals. Degrees of darkness of /l/ in the Catalan dialects. Allophones of /l/. Loss of alveolar contact and vocalization
of dark /l/.
4e. Rhotics. Articulatory and acoustic properties of taps and trills. Allophones and dialectal differences.
Elision of the word-final rothic.
4f. Fricatives and affricates. Articulatory and acoustic properties. Word-final devoicing of fricatives and affricates.
Voicing of word-final fricatives and affricates before a word-initial vowel.
5. Consonantal sequences. Place assimilation in sequences of homorganic and heterorganic consonants; gestural blending cases.
Assimilation of manner of articulation and voicing. Merging of consonants. Realization of consonantal sequences in absolute
word-final position.
6. Questions of speech and oral standard. Relationship between issues of Catalan phonetics and the setting of the oral standard.
Methodology
The explanation of the course material will be complemented with exercises dealing with the acoustic analysis of sounds and sound sequences with the use of the Praat program, and with the interpretation of palatograms and lingual configurations. There will also be exercices of phonetic transcription of different dialectal varieties and class presentations, in which the student will have to put into practice the knowledge acquired about the phonetic characteristics of formal elocution.
The phonetic characteristics of the oral standard will be studied and correction exercises of the students' pronunciation will be carried out.
The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject.
The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.
In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Exposition of themes and practice | 63.5 | 2.54 | 6, 1, 4, 2, 3, 7 |
| Personal study, elaboration of research works and preparation of oral presentations | 74 | 2.96 | 6, 1, 5, 2, 3, 7 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Advice on research work and presentations | 9 | 0.36 | 6, 1, 5, 2, 3, 7 |
Assessment
The assessment of the subject will be done in the following way:
(a) Delivery of a research work and exercices of phonetic transcription: 30%
(b) Oral presentation of a short research study: 10%
(c) Partial written exams: 20%.
(d) Final written exam: 40%.
The subject will be considered 'assessable' when (d) has been carried out.
In order to pass the course it will be necessary to obtain a minimum grade of 5. The student will receive a grade of "Non-Assessable" as long as he/she has not completed more than 30% of the assessment activities.
The date of the tests and the deadline of the delivery of the research work will be announced with a minimum of two weeks notice. The final exam may be performed on a different date from the established one only when there are major reasons, which have to be properly justified.
The student will be able to access the recovery exam when he/she gets a grade between 3.5 and 4.9.
To participate in the recovery the student must have been previously evaluated in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of two thirds of the total qualification of the subject.
The recovery exam will consist of a written test equivalent to at least 50% of the activities. The maximum grade of recovery exam is 5.
As each assessment activity is carried out, the teacher will inform the students through the Moodle application about the procedure and the date of the review of qualifications.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will bemaintained). Homework activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery of a research work and exercices of phonetic transcription | 30% | 0 | 0 | 6, 1, 5, 2, 3, 7 |
| Final written test | 40% | 0 | 0 | 6, 1, 4, 2, 3, 7 |
| Oral presentation in class of a short research study | 10% | 0.5 | 0.02 | 6, 1, 4, 2, 3, 7 |
| Partial written test | 20% | 3 | 0.12 | 6, 1, 5, 2, 3, 7 |
Bibliography
Bonet, Eulàlia, Maria Rosa Lloret i Joan Mascaró. 1997. Manual de transcripció fonètica. Bellaterra,
Publicacions de la Universitat Autònoma.
Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Secció Filològica. 2009. Proposta per a un estàndard oral de la llengua catalana, I.
Fonètica. Barcelona, Institut d'Estudis Catalans.
Prieto, Pilar. 2004. Fonètica i fonologia. Els sons del català. Barcelona, Editorial UOC.
Recasens, Daniel. 1993. Fonètica i fonologia. Barcelona, Enciclopèdia Catalana.
Recasens, Daniel. 1996. Fonètica descriptiva del català. Assaig de caracterització de la pronúncia del
vocalisme i consonantisme del català al s. XX. Barcelona, Institut d'Estudis Catalans. 2a. edició.
Recasens i Vives, Daniel. 2014. Fonètica i fonologia experimentals del català. Vocals i consonants. Barcelona,
Institut d'Estudis Catalans.
This bibliography will be completed with web links to be found in the Virtul Campus.
Software
The Praat program for acoustic sound analysis will be used.