Linguistics 101: Phonetics and Phonology

Learn the basics of the study of language sounds.

This is the first course in the Linguistics 101 series. Let’s start by looking at the most essential elements of language: sounds.

You can use this course as a review before your exams, or if you wish to brush up your knowledge of linguistics, or if you just want to learn something completely new!

In this course, you will have an overview of the fields of phonetics, the study of the physical aspects of language sounds, and phonology, the study of sound patterns in language.

We start the course with a summary of what linguistics is and what the main theoretical frameworks in linguistics are. Then, we cover the main points of phonetics; we will look at what exactly the sounds of language are and have an overview of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) system, this will enable you to start reading transcriptions and transcribing some words yourself.  You will gain some understanding of the human vocal tract and become familiar with aspects of sound production. We are also going to look at the most common articulatory processes found across languages and study suprasegmental features (intonation, stress, etc.).

Next, we move on to phonology and you will gain an understanding of how and why phonology (and linguistics as a whole) has become a cognitive science. You will study core concepts in phonology, such as phonemes and allophones, phonotactics, features, and natural classes. We also analyse classic generative ideas in phonology (rule-based phonology). These will enable you to understand more intermediate and advanced materials.

Please note:

This course covers topics in descriptive and theoretical linguistics, it is not a pronunciation course.

Although we look at the IPA and have some transcription practice, this is not a transcription-focused course.

Quizzes and assignments are optional.

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