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English Phonetics and Phonology II

Code: 106292 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2504212 English Studies OB 2

Contact

Name:
Julio Miguel Cebrian Puyuelo
Email:
juli.cebrian@uab.cat

Teachers

Julio Miguel Cebrian Puyuelo
(External) Celia Gorba Masip
(External) Maria Josep Solé Sabater

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

  • Students should have taken English Phonetics and Phonology I before enrolling in this course. The specific requisites regarding its contents are knowledge of phonetic transcription and basic descriptive terms from the English Phonetics and Phonology I course.
  • Students should have a minimum level of  C2 (Proficiency) from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, Teaching, Assessment. 

Objectives and Contextualisation

This is a second year course which should be taken after English Phonetics and Phonology I. It deals with the differences between the phonological Systems of English and Catalan/Spanish, focusing on suprasegmental aspects, whereas English Phonetics and Phonology I focuses on segmental aspects.

By the end of the course, the students will be able to stress English words and sentences, to use English intonation and rhythm. They will be able to do and read phonological transcription of short texts and dialogues, and to pronounce correctly English texts both in spelling and in transcription. 

After finishing the course, the student will be able to:

  • Use phonetic transcription
  • Identify the form and function of stress, rhythm and intonation patterns in English.
  • Perceive and produce relevant contrasts in English
  • Compare the phonological system of English and Catalan/Spanish and identify problematic areas.
  • Improve their English pronunciation.

Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values. 
  • Apply scientific ethical principles to information processing.
  • Demonstrate skills to work autonomously and in teams to fulfil the planned objectives.
  • Describe and analyse—synchronically and comparatively—the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of English and its historical development.
  • Distinguish and contrast the distinct paradigms and methodologies applied to the study of English.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at advanced higher-proficient-user level (C2).
  • Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Describe and analyse (synchronically and diachronically) the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic properties of English.
  2. Express oneself in English in writing and orally in an effective and correct manner, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of phonetics and phonology, syntax, semantics and the history of the English language.
  3. Gather and interpret relevant data to make critical judgements on aspects of English linguistics and its practical applications.
  4. Identify and understand different models for the linguistic analysis of English at phonetic-phonological, syntactic, semantic and historical levels.
  5. Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
  6. Make use of the knowledge acquired while respecting diversity of opinion and varieties of a language.
  7. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  8. Produce written and oral academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English linguistics.
  9. Understand specialised academic texts on research in English linguistics at C2 level.

Content

UNIT 1. English phonotactics and syllable structure

UNIT 2. English word stress, vowel reduction and levels of prominence

UNIT 3. Stress in derived words: suffixation and compound nouns.

UNIT 4, English sentence stress and rhythm.

UNIT 5. English intonation.

UNIT 6. Phonetic transcription of short texts and dialogues and practice reading transcribed texts 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures and practical seminars. 45 1.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 22.5 0.9 8
Type: Autonomous      
Exercises, assignments, readings, individual study and participation. 57.5 2.3 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9

Autonomous activities: Exercises, assignments, readings, individual study and participation.

Directed activities: Lectures and practical seminars.

Supervised activities: Tutoring sessions.

 

 

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Homework and participation 15% 16 0.64 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Midterm 1 25% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 6, 8
Midterm 2 25% 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
Oral exam 25% 0.5 0.02 2, 4, 8
assignments 10% 5.5 0.22 2, 8

Assessment

This subject does not incorporate the single-assessment option.

Besides the usual participatory responsibilities (class participation, assigned readings) there will be regular homework, quizzes and assignments, a written midterm exam, as well as a final written and oral exam. The written exams will include the assigned readings. Students will be evaluated as follows:

  • 75% of the final mark will correspond to two written exams (25% each) and an oral exam (25%). The pass mark for exams is 5 out of 10. 
  • 10% of the final mark corresponds to one or two assignments, which may include a mock oral exam and another assignment to be determined, which students will carry out individually.
  • The remaining 15% will correspond to class participation, homework, quizzes and practical exercises done in class.

Exact dates for all evaluation activities will be confirmed at the start of the course through a course calendar published on the class Moodle.

Note:

  • All the assignments and tests are COMPULSORY.
  • To pass the course, the following conditions need to be fulfilled:
    • The final oral exam needs to be passed.
    • The combination of the marks of the two written exams needs to average out to a 5 or higher. If one of the two written exams is failed, it will need to have a minimum mark of 4.
  • A final mark of “No avaluable” (Not assessed/Not submitted) can only be obtained if the student has completed a maximum of one exam and the assignment. Therefore, the completion of two exams excludes the possibility of obtaining the “No avaluable”.
  • The students’ command of English will be taken into account when marking all exercises and for the final mark.

Reassessment conditions

  • Reassessment of the course material will be item-by-item when the following conditions are met:
    • The student has a minimum course mark of 3.5/10.
    • The student has completed all the evaluation items.
    • One of the written exams must be passed.
  • The maximum mark that can be obtained at reassessment exam is a 5 out of 10.
  • The reassessment dates are assigned by the university and will not be changed to suit individual students' needs. 
  • Missed tests can only be retaken if the student provides documented justification of their absence.
  • Lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the date and place of the reassessment exams.
  • Evaluation activities excluded from reassessment. The following activities are not eligible for reassessment: assignments, quizzes, and assigned exercises.

Procedure for Reviewing Grades Awarded.

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

IMPORTANT:

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. Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.

Partial or total plagiarizing will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarized exercise. Repeated instances of plagiarism will result in a FAIL (0) of the whole subject. PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources –whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text– with the intention of passing it off as the student’s own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student’s own text. Plagiarizing is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors’ intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.

 

 

 


Bibliography

Cruttenden, Alan. 2001. Gimson's pronunciation of English [6th edition]. London: Edward Arnold.

Finch, Diana. F. and Ortiz Lira, Hector. 1982. A course in English Phonetics for Spanish Speakers. London: Heinemann.

Gómez González, María de los Ángeles & Sánchez Roura, Teresa. 2016. English Pronunciation for Speakers of Spanish. From Theory to Practice. Mouton de Gruyter.

Kreidler, Charles.W. 1997. Describing Spoken English. An Introduction. London: Routledge. Ch. 7

Ladefoged, Peter. 1982 (1993, 2005). A Course in Phonetics. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich/Thomson Wadsworth.

Mott, Brian. 2000. English Phonetics and Phonology for Spanish Speakers. Barcelona: Edicions Universitat de Barcelona.

Roach, Peter. 1983. English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge: CUP.

Solé, Maria-Josep. 1991. Stress and rhythm in English. Revista Alicantina de  Estudios Ingleses 4, 145-162.

Wells, John.C. 2006. English Intonation: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

- Further reading

Hansen Edwards, Jette G. 2023.The Sounds of English Around the World. An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

MacKay, Ian R. A. 2023. Phonetics and Speech Science. Cambridge University Press.

 

Recommended books for further practice

Estebas, Eva. 2009. Teach yourself English pronunciation: An interactive course for Spanish speakers.  Netbiblos/UNED.

García-Lecumberri, María Luisa & John A. Maidment. 2000. English Transcription course. London: Arnold.

Hancock, Mark. 2003. English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hewings, Martin. 2007. English Pronunciation in Use. Advanced. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 Rogerson, P and J.B. Gilbert 1990. Speaking clearly. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Internet resources

English Phonetics and Pronunciation in Barcelona

https://englishphoneticsbcn.com/

 

Phonetic transcription

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/johnm/flash/flashin.htm

http://davidbrett.uniss.it/phonology/page%20with%20frames2.htm

 

General phonetics and English phonetics

http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/resource/index.html

http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/course/contents.html

http://hctv.humnet.ucla.edu/departments/linguistics/VowelsandConsonants/

https://corpus.linguistics.berkeley.edu/acip/

 

Pronunciation practice and ear training

http://www.shiporsheep.com/

http://www.cambridge.org/elt/shiporsheep/

http://www.btinternet.com/~eptotd/vm/vowelmachine/vowelmachine.htm

http://www.englishaccentcoach.com/  


Software

No specific software will be used.


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 English second semester morning-mixed