Sound Structure of German.

Catalog description

This course will address the sound system of High German. It will begin with a thorough introduction and overview of articulatory phonetics, highlighting the striking differences in sound systems between standard German and American English. The course will then pivot towards phonetic isoglosses which differentiate German dialects, with particular emphasis on Swiss German. The course will also touch on German "dialects" spoken in North America, particularly Texas German and Pennsylvania Dutch. Finally, the course will end with a discussion of how sound systems are represented in the brain, using German data to contrast an ordered rule approach with an optimality theoretic approach. Prerequisite: GERM 202 .