R21118 LINGUISTICS I THE SOUNDS OF GERMAN NICOLAMCLELLANDNOTTINGHAMACUK CONSULTATION

R21118 LINGUISTICS I THE SOUNDS OF GERMAN NICOLAMCLELLANDNOTTINGHAMACUK CONSULTATION






R21118: Linguistics I: the sounds of German


R21118: Linguistics I: the sounds of German


[email protected]

Consultation hour Wed. 11.3-12.30, Trent C32


Content Description: This module investigates the sounds of German and how they can be described accurately (“phonetics and phonology”). Students will learn to transcribe German using the notation of the International Phonetic Association, and we will look in particular at aspects of German pronunciation that are hard to master because they are different to English or similar to French. We will also look at how foreign words (including English words) are integrated into the German sound system, and at regional variation in spoken German. Practical transcription skills will form a major part of coursework, including one of the two assignments.


Method of Assessment: practical coursework assignment (formative assessment) and a 1.5 hour exam (100%).


Each 2-hour session will divided into a more theoretical seminar and more practical work. You will normally be asked to prepare reading for the first hour, and practical exercises for the second hour.


R21118 The sounds of German – programme outline


Set reading is usually both from Modern German pronunciation by Hall (the set text) and from at least one other text-book. It would be sensible to copy the relevant chapters from Russ, Johnson, Boase-Beier & Lodge at the start of the semester, as we will be dipping into them throughout the module. (See bibliography for full references.)


(Week 1 orientation week, no teaching)


2.10

Week 2 Introduction: what is linguistics? How can we study language? The levels of linguistic analysis: syntax, morphology, semantics, phonetics and phonology. Phonetics and phonology: the disciplines that look systematically at the sounds of language

Introducing the phoneme; the notion of minimal pairs


Practical session The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) and principles of transcription: p, t, k, b, d, g: < >, / / , [ ]


Reading for next week: Hall, chapter 2, and sections of chapter 3 (Consonants): up to end of 3.2, and sections of chapter 4 (Vowels) up to end of 4.3.11

9.10

Week 3

How are sounds produced? The articulatory organs; manner and place of articulation; voicing; the vowel quadrilateral; vowel quantity and quality; Auslautverhärtung and basic phonological rules


Practical session:

Practice in transcribing stops and vowels, schwa, glottal stop

Contrasting German and English vowels


Reading for next week: Russ 1994, 122-143, Hall section 3.3, 4.3.12 to start of 4.4, and 3.7

16.10

Week 4: Phonological features


Practical session: Fricatives and affricates; the “Umlauts” and contrasts with French and English


Reading for next week: Boase-Beier & Lodge 110-120 on syllable structure (you may find it tough in places but do your best ....)

Hall 3.4 and 4.4 to end of chapter 4

23.10

Week 5:

Phonotactics, sonorance and the structure of the syllable

Practical class: Approximants; Nasals; Diphthongs

Reading for week 6: Hall 3.5 and 3.6 on l and r; Read all the (d) sections (which deal with regional variation) in Hall’s account of the vowels and consonants – pp.38, 40, 42, 47, 54, 65-66, 79, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, , 89, 91, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106

30.10

Week 6: Allophones; social and geographical variation; Phonological integration of loan words in German (such as Journalist, Restaurant, Computer) – peripheral phonemes; problems for German speakers


Practical session: The liquids /l/ and /r/; transcribing loan words in German


Reading for next week: Boase-Beier & Lodge 133-140; Hall 138-146 (both on assimilation / dissimilation); Russ 144-148

6 Nov

(Week 7: reading week)

13.11

Week 8: Connected speech: co-articulation and assimilation; Phonological rules


Practical session: Transcribing co-articulation and assimilation


Reading for next week: Hall, chapter 5

20.11

Week 9: Intonation and stress


Practical class: Transcribing intonation patterns and marking stress


Preparation for next week: practise transcription using the given passage

27.11

Week 10: Bringing it all together: practising transcribing, syllable structure, stress, intonation and the effects of connected speech


Preparation for next week: revision reading: Johnson 1998, chapters 4 and 5

4.12

Week 11: Practice transcription test; formative exercise due in class


Preparation for next week: revise for transcription in class; do practice exam.

11.12

Week 12: Transcription practice; revision for exam.

Assessment: 1 practical coursework assignments (formative assessment) and a 1.5 hour exam (100%):


Coursework 1 FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT (due in class of Week 1, i.e. 4.12): Write a one-page introduction (max 250 words, not including the bibliography) to one of the topics listed below.

The purpose of this assignment is to give you a deeper insight to one aspect of German phonetics / phonology, and to give you practise in researching a linguistics topic and presenting your work to a professional standard.


1. The allophones of r in German and in English

2. The structure of the syllable in German (why fplug and rborst are not possible German words, but Blug and Strob are)

3. Auslautverhärtung (which explains the fact that Rad and Rat are pronounced the same)

4. Affricates pf, ts, ks – one phoneme or two?

5. ç and x – their relationship (as in ich and ach, but also Buch and Bücher)

6. Diphthongs in German and in English

7. Intonation in German and contrasts with English



Exam 100%: 1.5 hours. The exam. tests your overall knowledge of German phonetics and phonology and your ability to identify, analyse and explain points of significance. You will be given a passage and asked to transcribe part of it into IPA. You will also be asked to comment on features of co-articulation, assimilation, problems for non-native speakers, and any other points of interest. There will also be one general short-answer question about one or more aspects of German phonetics and/or phonology.


We will prepare for the exam. with practice in Weeks 11 and 12.


R21118 Bibliography


Beedham, Christopher. 1995. German linguistics: an introduction. Munich: Iudicium. [in short loan; also other copies]

Boase-Beier, Jean, and Lodge, Ken. 2002. The German language: a linguistic introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. [in short loan]

Fromkin, Victoria A. ed. 2000. Linguistics. An Introduction to Linguistic Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.

Hakkarainen, H.J. 1995. Phonetik des Deutschen. Munich: UTB Fink. [short loan]

Hall, Christopher. 2003. Modern German Pronunciation. Manchester: Manchester University Press. SET TEXT [short loan]

Hudson, Grover. 1999. Essential Introductory Linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.

Johnson, Sally. 1998. Exploring the German language. London: Hodder Arnold. [short loan]

Linke, Angelika, Nussbaumer, Markus, and Portmann, Paul R. 1994 (2nd edition). Studienbuch Linguistik: Reihe Germanistische Linguistik121. Tübingen: Niemeyer.

Ramers, Karl-Heinz, and Vater, Heinz. 1995. Einführung in die Phonologie: Kölner Linguistische Arbeiten - Germanistik 16. Hürth: Gabel Verlag.

Ramers, Karl-Heinz. 1998. Einführung in die Phonologie. Munich: Fink.

Russ, Charles V. 1994. The German language today: a linguistic introduction. London: Routledge. [short loan; also e-book]








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