Course Material

The course introduces students to approaches to and methods of collecting and analyzing phonological data using experimental framework. The course starts with a general overview of problems within the scope of experimental phonology: verification of phonological claims, perception and production of phonological contrasts, assessment of distinctive features, and studies in lexical representation. It is followed by a brief overview of experimental designs and quantitative analysis. Next, three case studies are discussed: 1) VOT and phonological voicing features; 2) lexical and postlexical palatalization in English; 3) nasal vowels in English.

Readings

Kessinger, R. H. & Blumstein, S. E. (1997). Effects of speaking rate on voice-onset time in Thai, French, and English. Journal of Phonetics 25, 143-168.

Lisker, L. & Abramson, A. S. (1964). A cross-language study of voicing in initial stops: acoustical measurements. Word 20, 384-422.

Solé, M.-J. (1992). Phonetic and phonological processes: The case of nasalization. Language and Speech, 35, 29-43.

Zsiga, E. C. (1995). An acoustic and electropalatographic study of lexical and post-lexical palatalization in American English. In B. Connell & A. Arvaniti (Eds.), Phonology and Phonetic Evidence: Papers in Laboratory Phonology IV (pp. 282-302). Cambridge: CUP.