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English Phonetics and Phonology II

Code: 106292
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Juli Cebrian Puyuelo
Email :
juli.cebrian@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Juli Cebrian Puyuelo
Celia Gorba Masip

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

  • Students should have taken English Phonetics and Phonology I before enrolling in this course. The specific requisites regarding its contents are knowledge of phonetic transcription and basic descriptive terms from the English Phonetics and Phonology I course.
  • Students should have a minimum level of  C2 (Proficiency) from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning, Teaching, Assessment. 

Objectives

This is a second year course which should be taken after English Phonetics and Phonology I. It deals with the differences between the phonological Systems of English and Catalan/Spanish, focusing on suprasegmental aspects, whereas English Phonetics and Phonology I focuses on segmental aspects.

By the end of the course, the students will be able to stress English words and sentences, to use English intonation and rhythm. They will be able to do and read phonological transcription of short texts and dialogues, and to pronounce correctly English texts both in spelling and in transcription. 

After finishing the course, the student will be able to:

  • Use phonetic transcription
  • Identify the form and function of stress, rhythm and intonation patterns in English.
  • Perceive and produce relevant contrasts in English
  • Compare the phonological system of English and Catalan/Spanish and identify problematic areas.
  • Improve their English pronunciation.

Learning outcomes

  1. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  2. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  3. Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
  4. Gather and interpret relevant data to make critical judgements on aspects of English linguistics and its practical applications.
  5. Express oneself in English in writing and orally in an effective and correct manner, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of phonetics and phonology, syntax, semantics and the history of the English language.
  6. Understand specialised academic texts on research in English linguistics at C2 level.
  7. Produce written and oral academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of English linguistics.
  8. Identify and understand different models for the linguistic analysis of English at phonetic-phonological, syntactic, semantic and historical levels.
  9. Apply the concepts and skills acquired to the analysis of texts from distinct historical periods of the English language.
  10. Make use of the knowledge acquired while respecting diversity of opinion and varieties of a language.

Contents

Analysis of the English phonological system and comparison with that of Catalan/Spanish, focusing on suprasegmental features (syllable structure, stress, rhythm, and intonation). Review of the English segmental system and further study of phonetic transcription. Practice and improvement of English pronunciation as a foreign language (production and perception of segmental contrasts, vowel reduction, stress, rhythm and intonation patterns, and oral fluency).


UNIT 1. English phonotactics and syllable structure.

UNIT 2. English word stress, vowel reduction and levels of prominence.

UNIT 3. Stress in derived words: suffixation and compound nouns.

UNIT 4, English sentence stress and rhythm.

UNIT 5. English intonation.

UNIT 6. Phonetic transcription of short texts and dialogues and practice reading transcribed texts.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Tutorials 22.5 0.9 7
Lectures and practical seminars. 45 1.8 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10
Exercises, assignments, readings, individual study and participation. 57.5 2.3 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10

Autonomous activities: Exercises, assignments, readings, individual study and participation.

Directed activities: Lectures and practical seminars.

Supervised activities: Tutoring sessions.

 

 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
assignments 10% 5.5 0.22 5, 7
Oral exam 25% 0.5 0.02 5, 7, 8
Homework and participation 10% 16 0.64 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Final exam (Test 2) 30% 1.5 0.06 5, 7, 8, 10
Midterm 1 25% 1.5 0.06 4, 5, 7, 10

Assessment


This subject does not incorporate the single-assessment option.


  • 80% of the final mark will correspond to two written exams in the middle and the end of the term (25% and 30%, respectively) and an oral exam at the end (25%). The pass mark for all exams is 5 out of 10.
  • 10% of the final mark corresponds to one or two assignments, which may include a mock oral exam and another assignment to be determined.
  • The remaining 10% will correspond to homework exercises, practical exercises done in class, class participation, and homework-based quizzes.


Exact dates for all evaluation activities will be confirmed at the start of the course through a course calendar published on the class Moodle.


Note:

  • All the assignments and tests are COMPULSORY.
  • To pass the course, the following conditions need to be fulfilled:
  • The final written exam and the oral exam need to be passed.
  • The combination of the marks of the two written exams needs to average out to a 5 out of 10, or higher, with the condition that the midterm written exam has a mark of at least 4 out of 10.
  • The course average, taking all assessment items into account, should be at least a 5 out of 10.
  • Students will obtain a not assessed/not submitted course grade (“No avaluable”) if they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.
  • The students’ command of English will be taken into account when marking all exercises and for the final mark.
  • This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
  • IMPORTANT: Partial or total plagiarizing will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarized exercise. Repeated instances of plagiarism will result in a FAIL (0) of the whole subject. PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources –whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text– with the intention of passing it off as the student’s own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student’s own text. Plagiarizing is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors’ intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.
  • In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or a misuse of AI. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.
  • If a student misses a test or an assignment for a justified reason (e.g., an illness), the student will need to provide evidence of that justification in order to opt for a make-up test or assignment.
  • If an Erasmus exchange student cannot be present on the date of a final exam due to a scheduling conflict related to their home university and wants to request an earlier examination date, they will need to submit a written document or letter from their home university in order to justify their request.


Reassessment conditions


Reassessment of the course material will be possible when the following conditions are met:

  • The student has a minimum course mark of 3.5/10.
  • The student must have been assessed in activities worth at least 2/3 of the total continuous assessment weight.


The only evaluation items that can be reassessed are the two written exams and the oral exam. In the event that a student has to reassess both written exams, there will be a single exam involving then content included in both failed exams.

The reassessment dates are assigned by the university and will not be changed to suit individual students' needs.

Lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the date and place of the reassessment exams.


Evaluation activities excluded from reassessment

The following activities are not eligible for reassessment: assignments, quizzes, and assigned exercises.


Procedure for Reviewing Grades Awarded

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

Bibliography

-Basic biblography

Cruttenden, Alan. 2001. Gimson's pronunciation of English [6th edition]. London: Edward Arnold.

Finch, Diana. F. and Ortiz Lira, Hector. 1982. A course in English Phonetics for Spanish Speakers. London: Heinemann.

Gómez González, María de los Ángeles & Sánchez Roura, Teresa. 2016. English Pronunciation for Speakers of Spanish. From Theory to Practice. Mouton de Gruyter.

Kreidler, Charles W. 1997. Describing Spoken English. An Introduction. London: Routledge. Ch. 7.

Krediler, Charles W. 2008. The Pronunciation of English: A Coursebook. John Wiley and Sons.

Ladefoged, Peter. 1982 (1993, 2005). A Course in Phonetics. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich/Thomson Wadsworth. [later edition: Ladefoged, Peter and Johnson, Keith. 2010. A Course in Phonetics. Cengage Learning.]

Mott, Brian. 2000. English Phonetics and Phonology for Spanish Speakers. Barcelona: Edicions Universitat de Barcelona.

Roach, Peter. (1983, 2009). English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge: CUP.

Solé, Maria Josep. 1991. Stress and rhythm in English. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses 4, 145-162.

Wells, John.C. 2006. English Intonation: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


- Further reading

Hansen Edwards, Jette G. 2023.The Sounds of English Around the World. An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

MacKay, Ian R. A. 2023. Phonetics and Speech Science. Cambridge University Press.


-Practice books

Estebas, Eva. 2009. Teach yourself English pronunciation: An interactive course for Spanish speakers. Netbiblos/UNED. ISBN: 978-84-362-7414-1.

García-Lecumberri, María Luisa & John A. Maidment. 2000. English Transcription course. London: Arnold.

Gilbert, Judy B. 2012. (4th edition). Clear Speech. Cambrigde University Press.

Hancock, Mark. 2003. English Pronunciation in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hewings, Martin. 2007. English Pronunciation in Use. Advanced. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Rogerson, Pamela and Judy B. Gilbert. 1990. Speaking clearly. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


-Online resources

See the website English Phonetics and Pronunciation in Barcelona (https://englishphoneticsbcn.com/), which includes an extense and regularly updated list of online resources about general phonetics, English phonetics and pronunciation practice.


Software

Software used in class demonstrations (optional for students): Praat (www.praat.org), https://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/

See also the English Phonetics and Pronunciation in Barcelona site (https://englishphoneticsbcn.com/), which includes an extensive and up-to-date list of virtual resources on general phonetics, English phonetics, and English pronunciation.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 English second semester morning-mixed