Eric Raimy
Pearson 102
eraimy1-at-swarthmore-dot-edu
Wednesday 10:00-11:30
I will be generally around Swarthmore Campus on Wednesdays all day and during class time on Tuesday/Thursdays. If the above office hours are not good for you talk to me and we should be able to set up another time. I also have office hours at Haverford (Stokes 209) on Tuesdays/Thursdays (11:30-1:00) if that works for you. Because I teach on multiple campuses, emailing me is the best way to get a hold of me.
Vowels and Consonants 2nd ed. Peter Ladefoged. Blackwell Publishers. 2005
This is the textbook we will be using and is available from the Swarthmore Bookstore. If you buy the book used, make sure that the CD that comes with the book is present.
You will also need to buy a USB microphone headset. Plantronics makes an assortment of them and I will be using the DSP-400 Digitally Enhanced Foldable Headset. You need a USB based one because the Mac computers that we'll be using in the lab do not have a 'microphone input' option which prevents us from using a non-USB microphone. You can get the DSP-400 from Amazon.com for roughly $40 and feel free to shop around. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO PURCHASE A MICROPHONE SO YOU CAN COMPLETE THE LAB ASSIGNMENTS but feel free to find another one. The only requirements are the following: (1) USB based, (2) noise canceling and (3) no wireless microphones.
There are additional materials available on the Blackboard course web page. There are lab guides, some sound files to start our labs with and some additional readings.
(1) to become aware of the likely acoustic correlates of phonological features
(2) to learn how to use Praat for recording and processing speech
(3) to learn the relevant methods to measure different aspects of speech
(4) to compare different speech varieties to see the inherent variation in language
Lab Reports (7) 35%
Tests (3) 45%
Final Comparison Lab 20%
Lab Reports (7)
7 lab assignments will be completed during the term and you will have a week to complete each one. The lab assignments will be based upon the current lecture topic and lab methodology. Some of the labs will require sharing of materials and you should switch who you share with each time. A guide on how to write a good lab report is posted on the Blackboard web page for this course. Lab instructions for each individual lab are also posted on the Blackboard course page.
Tests (3)
There will be three tests that will each focus on recent material in the course. The first will cover the IPA and articulatory descriptions of sounds (Feb. 7th), the second will cover the lab work up until spring break (Feb. 28th) and the last will cover the remainder of lab work (April 11th). Each test will be worth 15% of the final grade for a total of 45%
Final Comparison Labs
To end our semester and class, there will be a Final Comparison Lab which will consist of each student proposing some sort of acoustic comparison based on the methods introduced in the class. An abstract proposal for this lab is due on the last day before spring break (March 2nd). Developing this lab will consist of explaining what comparison you want to make, the materials you will need and how you will get them, a discussion of the measurements you are going to make and an explanation as to the relevance of the comparison. We will talk in class about ideas for this project and why different ideas are relevant or not. Completion of this assignment will consist of a lab report and the materials you used in your lab.
Class will be split between lectures and labs with Tuesdays being lectures and Thursdays being labs for the most part. Topics and assigned readings are listed below.
Tuesday: Introduction and Administrative Issues
Thursday: LAB INTRODUCTION
Tuesday: Review of Articulatory Phonetics
READ: CV Ch 1, 11, 12
Thursday: LAB 1: Sounds
Tuesday: Pitch
READ: VC 2, 7
Thursday: LAB 2: Pitch
LAB 1DUE
Tuesday: TEST 1
Thursday: LAB 2: Pitch cont.
Tuesday: Vowels
READ: VC 3, 4, 5, 11
Thursday: LAB 3: Formants
LAB 2 DUE
Tuesday: Vowels Continued
Thursday: LAB 3: Formants continued
Tuesday: Test 2
Thursday: LAB 3 DUE
COMPARISONS LAB ABSTRACT DUE
Tuesday: Consonants
READ: VC 6, 14
Thursday: LAB 4: VOT
Tuesday: Consonants continued
Thursday: LAB 5: Obstruents
LAB 4 DUE
Tuesday: Consonants continued
Thursday: LAB 6: Sonorants
LAB 5 DUE
Tuesday: Recording Methods
Thursday: LAB 7: Recording Methods
LAB 6 DUE
Tuesday: TEST 3
Thursday: LAB 8: Comparisons Lab
Tuesday: LAB 8 Cont./TBA
Thursday: LAB 8 Cont./TBA
Tuesday: LAB 8 Presentations
Thursday: LAB 8 Presentations