| Competences |
| Type A | Code | Competences Specific |
| A1 | Demostrar que coneix els corrents teòrics i metodològics de la lingüística i les seves aplicacions. | |
| A5 | Dominar la llengua anglesa des d’un punt de vista teòric i pràctic i expressar-s’hi oralment i per escrit de manera fluida i precisa. | |
| Type B | Code | Competences Transversal |
| Type C | Code | Competences Nuclear |
| Learning outcomes |
| Type A | Code | Learning outcomes |
| A1 |
Identifica les característiques del llenguatge humà. | |
| A5 |
Coneix el sistema de sons de la llengua anglesa i la seva relació amb el sistema ortogràfic. Coneix el sistema de transcripció fonètica. | |
| Type B | Code | Learning outcomes |
| Type C | Code | Learning outcomes |
| Contents |
| Topic | Sub-topic |
| UNIT 1. Letters, sounds and English | 1.1 Discrepancy between phonology and orthography |
| UNIT 2. Speech sounds and linguistic units | 2.1 Basic notions in phonetics and phonology ····· study of the linguistic characteristics of sounds ····· phonological differences vs. phonetic differences ····· phonological units as discrete units ····· the notion of contrast; the expression of meaning ····· how to identify a phoneme ····· the phoneme as a minimal unit of contrast ····· the use of minimal pairs ····· phonemes across languages ····· allophones ····· neutralization of phonemes ····· why do we need to know the sound system of a language? |
| UNIT 3. The speech chain | 3.1 Introduction to the speech act ····· psychological, physiological and physical media 3.2 The speech chain ····· 3.2.1 production ·············· 3.2.1.1 initiation process ·············· 3.2.1.2 phonation process; the larynx ·························· anatomy ·························· cartilages: crycoid, thyroid and arytenoids ·························· the vocal folds ·························· glottis ·························· physiology ·························· different glottal configurations ·························· voiced and voiceless sounds ·············· 3.2.1.3 oro-nasal process ·························· the velum ·························· oral and nasal sounds ·············· 3.2.1.4 articulation process ·························· active and passive articulators ·························· main parameters ·························· horizontal dimension ·························· vertical dimension ·························· laterality ·························· temporal issues ·························· coarticulation and coordination ····· 3.2.2 transmission ·············· speech as soundwaves ·············· sources and resonators ·············· fundamental frequency ·············· amplitude ·············· spectrum ·············· duration ····· 3.2.3 perception ·············· physiology ·············· the perception organs ·············· psychophysics ·············· pitch ·············· loudness ·············· quality ·············· length |
| UNIT 4. Transcription and the International Phonetic Alphabet | 4.1 Principles of transcription: broad, narrow ····· 4.1.1 Symbols and diacritics ····· 4.1.2 The International Phonetic Alphabet 4.2 Parameters for consonants ····· voicing ····· nasality ····· manner of articulation ····· place of articulation ····· laterality ····· temporal aspects ····· multiple articulations |
| UNIT 5. Parameters for vowels | 5.1 Parameters for vowels ····· front–back ····· low–high ····· round–unround ····· long–short ····· steady state–diphthong ····· oral–nasal ····· stressed–unstressed ····· r-coloredness ····· cardinal vowels |
| UNIT 6. Front vowels | 6.1 American English front vowels ····· phonological description ····· alternative transcriptions ····· spellings ····· distribution ····· allophonic and dialectal variations ····· length differences |
| UNIT 7. Back vowels | 7.1 American English back vowels ····· phonological description ····· alternative transcriptions ····· spellings ····· distribution ····· allophonic and dialectal variations ····· length differences |
| UNIT 8. Central vowels and diphthongs | 8.1 American English central vowels and diphthongs ····· phonological description ····· alternative transcriptions ····· spellings ····· distribution ····· allophonic and dialectal variations ····· length differences |
| UNIT 9. The phonetic nature of stress | 9.1 Preliminary considerations in the analysis of English stress ····· what is stress? ····· how can we usually tell where a word is stressed? ····· how can we tell the difference in stress between syllables? ····· stress as an issue of relative prominence 9.2 Levels of stress: primary and secondary ····· differences in degree/level of prominence 9.3 Phonetic nature of stress ····· 9.3.1 physiological, acoustic and perceptual issues ·············· effort, amplitude, loudness ·············· vocal fold vibration, F0, pitch ·············· time, duration, length ·············· vocal tract shape, spectrum, quality |
| UNIT 10. Stress and vowel reduction | 10.1 Alternations between full vowels and reduced vowels ······· vowels that can only appear in stressed syllables ······· vowels that can only appear in unstressed syllables ······· vowels that can appear in both stressed and unstressed syllables ······· relationship between reduced vowels and orthography 10.2 Strong and weak forms |
| UNIT 11. Word stress | 11.1 Distinctiveness in English stress ······· stress is both a phonetic and a phonological issue ······· distinctive stress (only difference in minimal pairs) is limited in English ······· compare to Spanish and Catalan ······· relevance of vowel reduction in unstressed syllables 11.2 Markedness and left-headedness ······· 11.2.1 word stress: two main patterns ·················· 11.2.1.1 final stress ································ very limited class of nouns with final stress (marked) ································ open class of verbs (unmarked) ·················· 11.2.1.2 non-final stress ································ open class of nouns (unmarked) ································ limited class of verbs, mostly derived from nouns (marked) |
| UNIT 12. Complex word stress | 12.1 The relevance of morphosyntactic information in stress assignment in English ······· 12.1.1 word-class distinctions ·················· verb/noun pairs ·················· secondary stress in most nouns but not verbs 12.2 Complex word stress ······· 12.2.1 stems and affixes ·················· 12.2.1.1 inflectional suffixes ································ do not change word-class ·················· 12.2.1.2 derivational suffixes ································ change word class ·················· 12.2.1.3 stress-neutral suffixes ································ no difference from the stress pattern of the base ································ suffixes are always unstressed ·················· 12.2.1.4 stress-shifting suffixes ································ different stress patterns from base ································ suffix can bear main stress ································ behave almost like separate bases 12.3 Stress in compound nouns and verbs ······· what is a compound? ······· stress pattern of compounds |
| Planning |
| Methodologies :: Tests | ||||||||||
| Competences | (*) Class hours |
Hours outside the classroom |
(**) Total hours | |||||||
| Introductory activities |
|
2 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| Lecture |
|
15 | 7.5 | 22.5 | ||||||
| Problem solving, exercises in the classroom |
|
24 | 28.5 | 52.5 | ||||||
| Problem solving, exercises |
|
4 | 16 | 20 | ||||||
| Assignments |
|
8 | 22 | 30 | ||||||
| IT-based practicals |
|
1 | 11 | 12 | ||||||
| Personal attention |
|
1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Short-answer objective tests |
|
1.5 | 1.5 | 3 | ||||||
| Practical tests |
|
3 | 3 | 6 | ||||||
| Oral tests |
|
0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | ||||||
| (*) On e-learning, hours of virtual attendance of the teacher. (**) The information in the planning table is for guidance only and does not take into account the heterogeneity of the students. | ||||||||||
| Methodologies |
| Description | |
| Introductory activities | – Explanation of course structure – Explanation of course syllabus – Presentation of course schedule – Description of the type of class: theory and practice – List and explanation of course objectives – List and explanation of course methodologies – Explanation of course assessment – List of teaching materials: workbook, recorded exercises and pronunciation dictionaries – Relation of course to the rest of the degree program – Presentation of the virtual environment for pronunciation practice – Instructions to carry out exercises and assignments – Feedback on work done and tests taken |
| Lecture | – Power-point supported sessions – Brief summary of session – Main objectives of session – Links to previous units – Explanation of main concepts – Exemplification – Audio and video illustrations – Question and answer session – Recapitulation |
| Problem solving, exercises in the classroom | – Pronunciation exercises: group and individual – Transcription exercises – Perception and discrimination exercises |
| Problem solving, exercises | – Self-correction transcription exercises |
| Assignments | – Pronunciation exercises recorded on digital media |
| IT-based practicals | – Listening exercises – Pronunciation exercises |
| Personal attention | – Solve doubts concerning course contents, mechanics or evaluation – Provide additional support with pronunciation issues – Make suggestions for improvement concerning pronunciation – Check on student progress |
| Personalized attention |
| Description |
| – Solve doubts concerning course contents, mechanics or evaluation – Provide additional support with pronunciation issues – Make suggestions for improvement concerning pronunciation – Check on student progress |
| Assessment |
| Methodologies | Competences | Description | Weight | ||||
| Problem solving, exercises in the classroom |
|
– Class attendance – Participation |
15% | ||||
| Assignments |
|
– Recorded pronunciation exercises | 25% | ||||
| Oral tests |
|
- Pronunciation | 15% | ||||
| Practical tests |
|
- Transcription exercises - Distributional and combinatorial exercises |
25% | ||||
| Short-answer objective tests |
|
- Short questions aimed at checking knowledge of theoretical contents | 20% | ||||
| Others |
| Other comments and second exam session | |||
|
No late assignments will be accepted. 60% = Passing grade for Convocatòria 1 & Convocatòria 2 Convocatòria 1: Convocatòria 2: "El professor podrà establir a la Guia Docent aquelles mesures que consideri oportunes per al bon desenvolupament de les activitats avaluatives. Les mesures podrien incloure limitacions pel que fa a l'ús o tinença de dispositius de comunicació i transmissió de dades durant la realització de les proves i seran d'obligat compliment per part de l'estudiantat" (art. 21 NAM Grau i art. 20 NAM Màster). |
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| Sources of information |
| Basic |
KENYON, J. S. and KNOTT, T. A., A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English, , 1953
, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, ,
ROMERO, Joaquín, Pronunciation Exercises, , 2011
VAN RIPER, C. G. and SMITH, D. E., An Introduction to General American Phonetics, , 1992
DAUER, R. M., Accurate English: A Complete Course in Pronunciation, , 1993 |
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| Complementary | |||||||||
| Recommendations |
| Subjects that continue the syllabus | |||
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| Subjects that are recommended to be taken simultaneously | ||
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| Subjects that it is recommended to have taken before | |||||||
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(*)The teaching guide is the document in which the URV publishes the information about all its courses. It is a public document and cannot be modified. Only in exceptional cases can it be revised by the competent agent or duly revised so that it is in line with current legislation.