Phonetics II (a.k.a. Introduction to Laboratory Phonology) has several functions in the linguistics curriculum. It originated as an intermediate-level course in the phonetics course series, to provide a transition between the introductory survey course (Ling. 600.01) and the advanced seminar in phonetics (Ling. 825). However, it was intended from the beginning also to serve as a "research methods" course for students in other areas of linguistics who are interested in using computational models and laboratory experiments to evaluate generalizations about the forms of words and larger utterances and their relationship to the human capacity for speech production and perception. The course objectives are to read a small selection of papers and to become acquainted with some laboratory resources relevant for doing experimental research and computational modeling of the sound structure of natural languages.
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30-5:18, Derby Hall 029.
Mary E. Beckman
office: room 07 Oxley, tel 292-9752
email: mbeckman@ling.osu.edu
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We will cover five general topics, taking two weeks to cover each one. The coursework is organized around these topics, and it has two components.
First, there are articles to read and discussion points to think about in relationship to each topic. You should read the articles as early as possible - before the first class meeting when we will start covering a topic for Topics 3 through 5, or before the second class meeting for Topic 1. We will keep a running list of discussion points for each topic, and we will take turns being the "recorders" - i.e., the people who are responsible for keeping track of the discussion points for a topic. For most of the class meetings devoted to a topic, being the recorder means adding new discussion points to the list as they come up and circulating the running list of discussions points by e-mail on the day following the class. For the last class meeting on a topic, being the recorder means bringing printed copies of the summary list of discussions points, organized in a way that will make it easy for us to recap what progress we have made in understanding the topic.
There is also a laboratory assignment for each topic, with a written report due before the last class meeting associated with the topic. A lab assignment typically will involve using resources in the linguistics teaching laboratory or software that you can download onto your home computer to acquire some basic laboratory or modeling skill, and the specifications for the report will usually include a short essay or two, to relate the lab work to the issues covered in the discussion and readings. The description of the assignment and specifications for the report will be handed out in the first or second class meeting devoted to the topic, so that you have at least a weekend to work on the lab. In general, if you have questions about the assignment, you should ask them in class, so that others can hear my explanations and (as important) so they can become part of the discussion points for the topic when appropriate. The final written report for each lab is due in my mailbox in 222 Oxley by 5:30 p.m. on the Wednesday of the second week that we will be covering the topic, so that we can go over the reports in class on the last day devoted to the topic.
The final grade will be based on your:
Topic 1 discussion part 1, as a plain text file.
Topic 1 discussion part 2, as a plain text file.
Topic 2 discussion part 1, as a pdf file.
Here is the description of associated perl scripts.
Topic 2 discussion part 2, as a pdf file.
Topic 2 discussion part 3, as a pdf file.
Extra discussion that continued after class.
Topic 2 discussion part 3 spillover.
Topic 3 discussion part 1, as a pdf file.
Topic 3 discussion part 2, as a pdf file.
Extra discussion that continued after class.
Topic 3 discussion part 3, as a pdf file.
Extra discusion that continued after class.
Topic 3 discussion part 4, as a pdf file.
Topic 3 discussion part 4 spillover.
Topic 4 discussion part 1, as a pdf file.
Extra discussion that continued after class.
Topic 4 discussion part 2, as a pdf file.
Topic 4 discussion part 3, as a pdf file.
Topic 5 discussion part 1, as a pdf file.
Topic 5 discussion part 2, as a pdf file.
Topic 5 discussion part 3, as a pdf file.
A question that came up after class