ENG 322: Phonology and Phonetics (الصوتيات والصواتة)

This introductory course explores the fields of phonetics and phonology. It starts with a look at the human vocal tract and its work mechanism. Students then learn to describe and classify speech sounds based on their place and manner of articulation and voicing. Next, they are trained to transcribe English words using IPA. After that, students are introduced to phoneme theory.  They explore the relationship between phonemes and allophones as well as types of distribution. The course moreover looks at distinctive features and trains students to use them to describe speech sounds and to group them into natural classes. Finally, students are introduced to the form and operation of phonological rules. Operations such as assimilation, deletion, and insertion are looked at as prime examples of phonological rules.