Introduction to English sound patterns

Fakultet for humaniora, samfunnsvitenskap og lærerutdanning

This course may be taken as a singular course.

This course gives an introduction to phonology and to the pronunciation of English. Our focus will be on the accent referred to as BBC English (or Received Pronunciation), but we will also look at certain regional pronunciation variants. In addition we will study variation which is determined by social factors such as membership of a particular social group/class or by the formality of the situation, including differences related to pragmatic aspects.

Students who have successfully completed the course will have the following learning outcome:

Knowledge and understanding:
- know the basic concepts of phonetics and phonology
- have a good knowledge of the phonological system of BBC English
- understand that language use is variable and that there may be different reasons for this
- know how social factors such as social class, ethnicity, gender and age influence language use
- know about some of the main regional or social markers in English, i.e. pronunciations or grammatical forms which help us to identify speakers as belonging to a particular area or social group.

Skills/proficiency:
- be able to read and write phonological script (IPA)
- be able to classify sounds and describe how sounds are produced
- be able to describe important concepts in phonology
- be able to describe different aspects of language use
- be able to account for differences in language use
- have improved their language skills in English

English.

Lectures and seminar groups. Quality assurance: The subject undergoes a post-evaluation every third year.

Coursework requirements:
One essay of approx. 2000 words. Coursework requirements are evaluated with approved/not approved.

Assessment method:
A 4-hour school exam.

Performance in the course will be assessed with the grades A-F. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed. A re-examination is offered in the event of an F-grade. The deadline to register for re-examination is January 15th for the autumn semester and August 15th for the spring semester.

Skriftlig eksamen: 01.12.2011

The date for the exam can be changed. The final date will be announced at your faculty early in May and early in November.

Skriftlig eksamen

ENG-1011 Introduction to English Language II 10
ENG-1011 Introduction to English Grammar II 10

Primary Reading:

• Roach, Peter: English Phonetics and Phonology - A practical course. 4th ed. CUP 2009, ISBN 9780521717403

• Holmes, Janet: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 3rd ed., Pearson/Longman 2008, ISBN 781405821315 (Chapter 1, 6-12)

+ exercises and handouts


Total Number of Pages (approx.): 300