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Spanish Phonetics and Phonology

Code: 106367 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2504211 Spanish Language and Literature OB 2

Contact

Name:
Lourdes Aguilar Cuevas
Email:
lourdes.aguilar@uab.cat

Teachers

Maria Jesus Machuca Ayuso
Lourdes Aguilar Cuevas
Maria Assumpcio Rost Bagudanch

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

The student must have acquired the essential language skills to effectively express themselves in Spanish, both orally and in writing.

It is essential to emphasize that any spelling or expression errors made by the student will result in a deduction of points from the final grade (a deduction of 0.25 per error in evaluation assessments).

In this course, originality holds great significance, and it is strictly forbidden to engage in complete or partial plagiarism of external materials published in any medium. Failure to appropriately attribute non-original content will automatically lead to a failing grade (0).

Furthermore, it is assumed that the student is familiar with the general guidelines for presenting academic work. However, if the professor deems it necessary, specific instructions may be provided, and it is expected that the student will comply with them accordingly.

 


Objectives and Contextualisation

  • Familiarize students with the fundamental concepts of phonetics and phonology, including theoretical principles and practical applications.
  • Enable students to describe in detail the phonetic system of Spanish, identifying and classifying sounds according to their articulatory and acoustic features.
  • Provide the necessary knowledge to analyze the phonological system of Spanish, understanding the relationships and functions of phonemes within the linguistic system.
  • Prepare students to apply the acquired knowledge in the study and research of phonetics and phonology, using transcription and data analysis techniques.
  • Offer a solid foundation that allows students to delve deeper into these disciplines in subsequent courses, such as "Phonetic Studies of Spanish: Perspectives and Applications," facilitating a deeper and more applied understanding of the subjects.
  • Contextualize the knowledge of phonetics and phonology within a broader framework of linguistic and interdisciplinary studies, highlighting its relevance to other fields, such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and applied linguistics.

Competences

  • Analyse the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic properties of the Spanish language, its evolution throughout history and its current structure.
  • Develop arguments applicable to the fields of Hispanic literature, literary theory, Spanish language and linguistics, and evaluate their academic relevance.
  • Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
  • 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 be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Acquire in-depth phonetic knowledge so that it can be applied to other interdisciplinary fields.
  2. Characterise linguistic phenomena taking into account the different levels of analysis.
  3. Describe the phonological system of Spanish on the basis of the distribution, relationships and articulatory and acoustic properties of its elements.
  4. Identify and describe the syntactic constructions of Spanish.
  5. Identify the constituents of a word and the levels at which they operate.
  6. Justify by means of appropriate terminology the analysis of data from a linguistic point of view.
  7. Make linguistic predictions and inferences about the content of a text.
  8. Propose new ways of measuring success or failure in the implementation of proposals or innovative ideas.
  9. Recognise acoustically and articulately the sounds and prosody of Spanish.
  10. Recognise the links between compositional semantics and other disciplines, both linguistic (syntax, lexicology, pragmatics) and non-linguistic (philosophy, logic, mathematics).
  11. Use digital tools to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.
  12. Use the appropriate terminology in the construction of an academic text and in the transmission of their knowledge.
  13. Use traditional sources to obtain, classify, interpret and analyse relevant data related to the study of Spanish language and literature.

Content

The subject is composed of the following thematic blocks:

  1. Articulatory description of vowels and consonants. Articulatory parameters for the classification of vowels and consonants.

  2. Acoustic description of vowels and consonants. Acoustic parameters for the classification of sounds. Relationships between articulatory and acoustic characteristics.

  3. Phonetic transcription. Phonetic alphabets: the alphabet of the Revista de Filología Española (RFE) and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).

  4. Prosodic phenomena. Stress. Intonation. Pauses.

  5. The phonological system of Spanish. From sound to phoneme. Phonemes and allophones. Contexts and distributions. Factors of variation.

  6. Characterization of Spanish phonemes through distinctive features. Physical description and distinctive features. Types of feature systems and their application to Spanish.

  7. The syllable. The syllable as a phonological unit. Syllable division and structure. Vowel and consonant groups.

  8. Phonological processes in Spanish. Sounds in contact. Representation of phonological processes in Spanish.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master classes 26.5 1.06 3, 9
Resolution of exercises 26 1.04 2, 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 6, 8, 9
Type: Supervised      
Preparation of evaluation activities 5 0.2 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 9
Supervision and review of exercises 10 0.4 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 8, 9
Type: Autonomous      
Extension of knowledge 15 0.6 1, 2, 3, 7, 11, 13, 8, 9
Preparation of exercises 15 0.6 2, 3, 7, 11, 13, 6, 9
Preparation of reading comprehension activities 15 0.6 3, 7, 11, 13, 9
Preparation of written production activities 15 0.6 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 6, 9
Search for bibliographical references 15 0.6 3, 11, 13, 9

The learning of this subject by the student is distributed as follows:

(1) 35% of guided activities

These guided activities must respect the established time schedule in the previous section. Moreover, it has to be done under the face-to-face supervision of a teacher. Additionally,  it must be taken into account that these activities are distributed in theoretical classes (17.5%) and discussion on different types of documents (17.5%).

(2) 10% Supervised activity

Supervised activity (10%) is programmed by the teacher so that students work autonomously, supervised by the teacher though. These can be carried out during the assigned practice hours of the subject, or the teaching staff may propose exercises to be performed outside the classroom.

(3) 50% Autonomous activities

In these activities the hours of study and the preparation of evaluable tests should be taken into account. These activities must be done by the student autonomously. The students will dedicate about totally 75 hours to these activities. Autonomous activities are considered in the assessment tests which will take place in class.

(4) 5% Evaluation activities

The teacher will carry out a continuous assessment on this subject through the three previously mentioned exercises. Additionally, the students have to do a written test. In this test, the use of written language in the proper context will also be assessed, since this subject corresponds to the field "Spanish language: synchrony ".

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
Phonetic transcription test of a file audio, analysis of the speaker articulations 10% 2.5 0.1 1, 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 6, 8, 9
Written test of the theoretical contents about Phonology: Practice and Theory 25%+20% 2.5 0.1 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 5, 4, 6, 9, 10
Written test of the theoretical contents about Phonetics: Practice and Theory 25%+20% 2.5 0.1 1, 2, 3, 7, 12, 11, 13, 5, 4, 6, 9, 10

Assessment

Students must participate in all evaluation activities.

  • Phonetic transcription test of a file audio, analysis of the speaker articulations (10%)
  • Written test of the theoretical contents about Phonetics: Practice (25%) and Theory (20%)
  • Written test of the theoretical contents about Phonology: Practice (25%) and Theory (20%)

To pass the subject, the final grade must be at least a 5, once the percentages have been applied.

A "non-evaluable" will be assigned when the provided evaluation evidence corresponds to a maximum of one-fourth of the total grade of the subject.

After submitting each assessment activity, the teacher will inform the students (via Moodle) of the review procedure and date of grading.

Recovery. Missed or failed activities

Students who have participated in activities that account for 70% or more of the final grade and have obtained an average mark of 3.5 or higher may access the reassessment process.

This test will consist of an additional exam during the designated reassessment period set by the Faculty, following the guidelines presented in this section.

Students who take the reassessment exam and pass it will receive a final grade of 5.

There will be no additional exams to increase the final mark of the subject.

Irregularities in assessment activities

If a student engages in any irregularities that could significantly affect the grading of an evaluation activity, that activity will be assigned a grade of 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated. If multiple irregularities occur in the evaluation activities of the same subject, the final grade for that subject will be 0.

Single Assessment

In the case that students choose the single assessment, they will have to take the following tests (the date will be indicated in Moodle)

  • Phonetic transcription test of a file audio, analysis of the speaker articulations (10%)
  • Written test of the theoretical contents about Phonetics: Practice (25%) and Theory (20%)
  • Written test of the theoretical contents about Phonology: Practice (25%) and Theory (20%)

The same assessment method as continuous assessment will be used


Bibliography

ALCOBA, Santiago & Julio MURILLO (1998). "Intonation in Spanish", en Daniel Hirst y Albert di Cristo (Eds.), Intonation Systems, A Survey of Twenty Languages, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 152-166.

KATZ, William F. & Peter F. ASSMANN (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Phonetics, Routledge, London

COLINA, Sonia & Fernando MARTÍNEZ-GIL (eds) (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Spanish Phonology, Routledge, London.

CHOMSKY, Noam & Morris HALLE (1968). The Sound Pattern of English. New York: Harper & Row. Trad cast de José Antonio Millán: Principios de fonología generativa. Madrid: Fundamentos, 1979.

FACE, Timothy (2008). Guide to the Phonetic Symbols of Spanish, Sommerville, Cascadilla Press.

FERNÁNDEZ PLANAS, Ana María (2005). Así se habla. Nociones fundamentales de fonética general y española, Horsori, 2005, 2ª ed.2011

GIL FERNÁNDEZ, Juana (1988). Los sonidos del lenguaje. Madrid: Ed. Síntesis.

GIL FERNÁNDEZ, Juana (2007). Fonética para profesores de español de la teoría a la práctica. Madrid: Arco Libros.

GIL FERNÁNDEZ, Juana (2016). "Fonética". En J. Gutiérrez-Rexach (ed.), Enciclopedia de lingüística hispánica, vol. 1. Londres-Nueva York: Routledge, pp. 64-80.

GIL FERNÁNDEZ, Juana & Joaquim LLISTERRI (2024). Fonética y fonología descriptivas de la lengua española, Georgetown University Press, Georgetown.

HARRIS, James Wesley (1983). Syllable Structure and Stress in Spanish. A Nonlinear Analysis. Cambridge: MIT Press. Trad. cast. de Olga Fernández Soriano: La estructura silábica yel acentoen español.Visor, 1991.

HIDALGO, Antonio & Mercedes QUILIS (2004). Fonética y Fonología Españolas. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2ª ed. corr. y aum.

HIDALGO, Antonio (2006). Aspectos de la entonación española: viejos y nuevos enfoques. Madrid: Arco/Libros.

HUALDE, José Ignacio (2014). Los sonidos del español, Cambridge University Press

HUALDE, José Ignacio, OLARREA, Antxon, ESCOBAR, Anna Maria, TRAVIS, Catherine. E., & SANZ, Cristina (2020). Introducción a la lingüística hispánica. Cambridge University Press. Capítulo 2 Los sonidos de la lengua: fonética y fonología.

IRIBARREN, Mary C. (2005). Fonética y Fonología Españolas. Madrid: Editorial Síntesis.

KATZ, William F. & Peter F. ASSMANN (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Phonetics, Routledge, London.

MARTÍNEZ CELDRÁN, Eugenio & Ana María FERNÁNDEZ PLANAS (2007). Manual de fonética española. Articulaciones y sonidos del español. Barcelona: Ariel.

NAVARRO TOMÁS, Tomás (1918). Manual de pronunciación española. CSIC: Madrid. 21ª edición, 1982.

NAVARRO TOMAS, Tomás (1945). Manual de entonación española. New York: Hispanic Institute. 4ª edición: Madrid: Guadarrama (Punto Omega, 175), 1974.

OBEDIENTE, Enrique (2007). Fonética y fonologia (3a ed.). Mérida: Consejo de Publicaciones, Facultad de Humanidades y Educación, Universidad de Mérida. (Primera edición: 1998).

PENAS IBÁÑEZ, María Azucena (2014). Panorama de la fonética española. Madrid: Arco-Libros.

QUILIS, Antonio (1981). Fonéticaacústica delalengua española. Madrid: Gredos (Biblioteca Románica Hispánica, Manuales, 49).

QUILIS, Antonio (1993). Tratado de fonología y fonética españolas. Madrid: Gredos (Biblioteca Románica Hispánica, Manuales, 74).

REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA (2011). Nueva Gramática de la Lengua Española: Fonética y Fonología y el DVD Las voces del español: tiempo y espacio, Madrid: Espasa.

ROMÁN MONTES DE OCA, Domingo (2011). Manual para el análisis fonético acústico. Chile: Pfeiffer.

SOSA, Juan M. (1999). La entonación del español. Su estructura fónica, variabilidad y dialectología, Madrid, Cátedra.

 

Learning resources


Software


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 3 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 3 Spanish first semester morning-mixed