Ling451: Phonology I
Summer 2013 5 Credits Final grade: 4.0 Linguistics |
PHonologyOf the classes I took for Linguistics, I found Phonology to be among the ones I enjoyed the most - slightly ironic as it is only a step away from phonetics. Phonology observes the ways in which languages allow certain sounds to come together. Perhaps what I loved the most about this class was that there was always an answer that could be found - it was a matter of looking carefully and finding patterns. Coursework felt more like solving puzzles (which I love) and then explaining our reasoning. The most difficult part of the class was memorizing sound classes. I spent a great deal of time constructing a comprehensive table to assist in this memorization which helped me the rest of the class (and my friend when he took the class a few quarters later!)
Phonology was particularly challenging for me, however, because of the time constraint. I took the class during a summer B-term. I was taking one other class and a 2-credit independent study during that term as well, taking a course load which would normally be distributed over three months in a single quarter. Immediately after it ended, I boarded a plane for my study abroad to South Africa. My artifact is a homework set. In it, I analyze Javanese for patterns in nasal assimilation and consonant deletion and explain my conclusions. |
Image: Visual Representation of sound in hertz of myself saying "Linguistics"