Sounds are the fundamental building blocks of any spoken language. This course is designed to provide an in-depth exploration of the sounds of the world’s languages, focusing on the articulatory and acoustic properties of speech sounds (phonetics) as well as the cognitive principles that govern their mental representation, combination, and alternations (phonology). In addition, we will examine phenomena such as tone, word stress, and other prosodic features that shape the rhythm and melody of language. By the end of the course, students will acquire practical skills in transcribing speech and analyzing sound patterns across a wide variety of languages, enabling them to understand both commonalities and differences in how languages organize and utilize sounds.
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