FR 32900 - Phonetics And Pronunciation

Combined lectures on problems of pronunciation and phonetic transcription, and oral practice sessions.

Preparation for Course
FR 20401 or equivalent or permission of the instructor.

Cr. 3.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Perfect your oral expression in French by ameliorating: your aural comprehension of the language and your pronunciation, so that it is as close as possible to standard French.[1]
2. Familiarize yourself with the basic concepts of French phonetics-speech organs, sound articulation, pronunciation rules and exceptions-since understanding speech production is key to strengthening aural comprehension, and correct and enhance oral production. We will emphasize problem areas for English-speaking students.
3. Learn to do phonetic transcriptions using the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). These symbols are very important because they cover all the existing sounds in all languages. Unlike spelling, they provide a sure, non-ambiguous way of pronouncing words. You will be able to correctly read any word-known or unknown to you-based on its phonetic transcription.
4. Practice your aural/oral skills through various forms of exercises (récitations, dictées, skits, tongue twisters, etc.) done in groups or individually, in and outside of class.
5. Understand the language as spoken by a proficient native speaker at normal speed on non-technical, general topics. More specifically, you should understand: the main ideas and considerable supporting details of oral presentations and conversations such as news broadcasts, interviews, short lectures, etc.; spontaneous speech on a variety of basic topics; sustained conversations or narrative of general topics; and the cultural implication of a particular level of speech or conversation-style (from versification to different styles of prose, including various degrees of slang), and accent (geographical and social variations).
6. Speak the language with sufficient command of vocabulary, phonology (sounds), and syntax (word order) to converse with a proficient speaker as follows: initiate, sustain, and close a general conversation; converse in a clearly participatory fashion during spontaneous, face-to-face conversations; handle a broad variety of everyday, school, and work situations; narrate and describe events, objects and activities with supporting details; display some ability to support opinion and hypothesize; paraphrase and restate in order to facilitate communication.