Linguistics 422 (001):

Research Methods in Phonetics

and Laboratory Phonology
Elliott Moreton
Spring 2014, MW 3:304:45

This course is aimed at students who are interested in pursuing lab or field projects in phonetics and
phonology. By the end of the course, students should understand the life cycle of a typical experiment in
speech production or perception, and be able to shepherd a project through that entire life cycle.
Much of the course will be devoted to learning practical skills needed to do this, including

The Perl programming language. It is useful at every stage of an experiment for automating
repetitive tasks, making possible projects that would otherwise be impractically huge.
Using lexical databases to control stimuli for phonotactics, neighborhood, frequency, etc.

Using the Praat software to run experiments in speech production and perception.
The basics of running experiments over the Web.
Large-scale manipulation of audio files using Praat scripting.
Using soldering tools to make audio connector cables.

Additional topics depending on student research interest.

This course is open to graduates and undergraduates. The prerequisite is one of the following courses:
Ling 520 (Phonetics), Ling 200 (undergraduate phonology), Ling 523 (graduate phonology), or SPHS 540
(Speech Science).

The skills taught in this course are among those mentioned most frequently in job ads for BA and MA
linguists on the LINGUIST list (https://linguistlist.org).

Required textbooks:
Schwartz, Randall L., Tom Phoenix, and Brian D. Foy. 2011. Learning Perl, 6th edition. Sebastopol,
Calif.: OReilly.
Ladefoged, Peter. 2003. Phonetic data analysis: an introduction to fieldwork and instrumental analysis
techniques. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell.