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LN4505: SOCIOPHONETICS (2017-2018)

Last modified: 25 May 2018 11:16


Course Overview

If you took LN3002 Phonetics, you developed skills in acoustic phonetic analysis. The rapidly developing field of Sociophonetics applies these techniques to address some profound questions about the links between phonetic variation and change and the structure of society. Through a combination of reading recent research papers and conducting focused practical work, we will investigate how speaker’s construction of their identities in terms of gender, place and social class is connected to their use of specific phonetic variants. We’ll also consider perception: find out how the presence of a toy kangaroo can make someone sound more Australian!

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Session Second Sub Session Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus None. Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Will Barras

Qualification Prerequisites

  • Programme Level 4

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Language And Linguistics (LN) (Studied)
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

If you took LN3002 Phonetics, you developed skills in acoustic phonetic analysis. The rapidly developing field of Sociophonetics applies these techniques to address some profound questions about the links between phonetic variation and change and the structure of society. Through a combination of reading recent research papers and conducting focused practical work, we will investigate how speaker’s construction of their identities in terms of gender, place and social class is connected to their use of specific phonetic variants. We’ll also consider perception: find out how the presence of a toy kangaroo can make someone sound more Australian!


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 31 August 2023 for 1st half-session courses and 22 December 2023 for 2nd half-session courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt: In-course assessment; 2500-3000 word essay (50%); 1000 word lab report (40%); Seminar Assessment Mark 10%. For honours students only: candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit a new essay.

Formative Assessment

Students will be given the opportunity of finding out how well they have performed in seminars as an ongoing feature of the learning process. Informal feedback will be given on practical exercises. Additional formative assessment will be given to students individually upon request.

Feedback

Feedback on the essay and lab report will be given in writing on the cover sheets. Students will also be invited to discuss their performance with their tutor. The Seminar Assessment Mark will be made available to students along with a generally brief written report from the tutor. Students will also be encouraged to speak to their tutor about the assessment.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.

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