The spoken languages of the world show fascinating diversity in the types of speech sounds that are used and the ways these are organised to encode meaning. We investigate the range of sounds used in the world's languages, including Indigenous languages of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. This course will provide you with skills in two core subdisciplines of linguistics: Phonetics, how sounds are produced by the human vocal tract, transmitted acoustically, and perceived by listeners, and Phonology, the ways speech sounds are systematically organised within and across languages. You will gain practical training in how to articulate and perceive different speech sounds and transcribe them using the International Phonetic Alphabet, and learn about relevant aspects of anatomy, physics and cognition. You will also be introduced to computer aided phonetic analysis using open source software, and methods of data collection for phonetic and phonological research. You will gain experience in critically applying principles of phonological analysis to describe and represent distinctions and distributional patterns in the sound systems of different languages, and undertake detailed research on a specific language. This course will provide you with a foundation for studies in fields such as forensic linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, linguistic typology, language acquisition, and speech pathology.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- produce and perceive a wide range of speech sounds, and transcribe them using the International Phonetic Alphabet;
- describe speech sounds with correct reference to articulatory gestures and the acoustic signal;
- use software to undertake acoustic analyses of audio-recorded speech data;
- critically apply principles of phonological analysis to identify distinctive sounds and their alternations, for diverse languages including Indigenous languages of Australia and the Asia-Pacific; and
- characterise the speech sounds and sound system of a language through analysis of primary data.
Other Information
This course is typically offered annually.
Indicative Assessment
- Transcription test (transcription of around 20 words) (10) [LO 1,2]
- Production test (production of around 20 words) (10) [LO 1]
- In-class quizzes and analytical tasks (1500 words equivalent) (30) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Research paper (2500 words) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 36 hours of contact: 24 hours of lectures, 12 hours of tutorial; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
There is no single textbook for this course. Required weekly readings will be made available via Wattle.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $5580 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8583 | 21 Jul 2025 | 28 Jul 2025 | 31 Aug 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | In Person | N/A |