Ling 520 | Schedule

Highlighted items are future plans that may be subject to adjustment.

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

[outline] Aug 18
Introduction to this course
Phonetics in linguistic theory

[outline] Aug 20
International Phonetic Alphabet
English sounds and symbols

[lab] Aug 22 (lab)
Introduction to Praat
English sounds and symbols

[outline] Aug 25
Properties of sound waves
Simple periodic waves

[outline] Aug 27
Complex periodic waves

[lab] [outline] Aug 29 (lab)
Simple and complex waves
Praat: Wave properties

Sept 1
HOLIDAY

[outline] Sept 3
Standing waves
Resonance wavelengths

[lab] [outline] Sept 5 (lab)
Resonance frequencies
Praat: Tube resonances

[outline] Sept 8
The glottal-source wave
Pitch (f₀) in language

[outline] Sept 10
Source-filter model:
Schwa f₀ and formants

[lab] [outline] Sept 12 (lab)
Source-filter model: Schwa
Narrow-/wide-band spectra

Sept 15
WELL-BEING DAY

[outline] Sept 17
Vowel symbols, descriptions
Introduction to vowel formants

[outline] Sept 19
Modeling formants: Tube model, Perturbation theory

[outline] Sept 22 ~~(lab)~~
Vowel acoustics:
Questions and review

[lab] Sept 24 (lab)
Praat: Formant tracker, WB spectrograms; F1 x F2 plots

[lab] Sept 26 (lab)
Research questions, hypotheses
Vowel Lab working session

[lab] Sept 29 (lab)
Vowel Lab working session

[review] Oct 1
Review for exam

Oct 3
Midterm exam

[outline] Oct 6
Fricatives:
Articulation and acoustics

[outline] Oct 8
Oral stops
Bursts, formant transitions

[lab] Oct 10 (lab)
Praat: Aperiodic noise
Fricative spectral analysis

[outline] Oct 13
The larynx and phonation
VOT (voice onset time)

[lab] [outline] Oct 15 (lab)
Hypotheses: VOT and PoA

Oct 17
FALL BREAK

[lab] Oct 20 (lab)
Praat: Plosive voicing, aspiration
Hypotheses; methodology

[outline] Oct 22
Hypotheses, data graphics
Discussion: Midterm and Lab 6

[outline] Oct 24
Nasal stops
Approximants

[outline] Oct 27
Review: Consonants
Reading spectrograms

[outline] Oct 29
Reading research papers:
From RQs to experiment design

[article ppsl] Oct 31 (lab)
Project working session:
Article proposal

[outline] Nov 3
Digital signal processing (DSP)
Making good recordings

[article report] Nov 5 (lab)
Project working session:
Article report, project proposal

[outline] Nov 7
Community, identity, variation
Vowel normalization

[project info] Nov 10 (lab)
Project working session:
Project proposal

[outline] Nov 12
Airstream mechanisms
Phonation types

[project info] Nov 14 (lab)
Project working session:
Analysis plan

[project info] Nov 17 (lab)
Project working session:
Analysis plan

[review] Nov 19
Review for final exam
Reading spectrograms

[project info] Nov 21 (lab)
Project working session:
Slides and presentation

Nov 24 (lab)
Project working session:
Slides and presentation

Nov 26
THANKSGIVING

Nov 28
THANKSGIVING

Dec 1
Project presentations
Groups TBD

Dec 3
Project presentations
Groups TBD

** Final exam period: F Dec 5, 8-11am **

Schedule of topics

Linguistic Phonetics · Fall 2025