LING 520 - Research Approaches to Speech Sounds

Language can be seen as a means for communication, for expression, and for identification, but the structure and form of language is itself a multilayered and complex object of study that can be viewed from numerous methodological perspectives. One core area in which this interdisciplinary approach is especially tangible is in the physical sounds used to generate speech, and the ways in which users of spoken language produce, interpret, and classify those sounds. Through engaging with both classic and current research, we will seek to answer the question: what do speakers need in order to fluently and effortlessly produce, perceive, and engage with the sounds and sound patterns of their language? Topics to cover include the role of “naturalness” in language, our gradient sensitivity to what is considered acceptable in speech sounds, the role of statistical patterns in our lexicon, the role of neurodivergence in organizing speech sounds, and the role of fine acoustic details as well as visual and even tactile details of how speech is produced. We will also cover how our phonology is affected by those we speak with, and how our attention to certain acoustic cues can result in perceptual stretching and illusions, especially in cases of producing and perceiving foreign languages, adapting loanwords into the native phonology, and even juggling multiple phonologies in one’s own mind.

Unit(s): 1
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Notes: Graduate course. Offered summer 2024.