Spring 2009 |
Prof. Carol Neidle |
TR 11-12:30, CAS 320 |
Course Coverage
The course presents a linguistic analysis of the French sound system, with frequent comparisons to the phonetics and phonology of English.
Coverage includes: articulatory phonetics, IPA transcription, phonological rules, dialectal variation and historical changes in the language, register effects and literary pronunciations, syllabic and metrical structure, liaison, intonation, and prosody, as well as the relationship between orthography and spoken language. Mastery of the linguistic phenomena under study is developed through written homework exercises and tested regularly by means of written quizzes and exams.
Students apply what they have learned to their own pronunciation (aided by in-class oral exercises and readings of plays, poetry, and prose, and reinforced by regular practice outside of class). Audio and video recordings of students' oral productions are analyzed linguistically in one-on-one meetings with the instructor at regular intervals.
The goals of this course are two-fold: (1) to develop an understanding of the principles that govern French pronunciation; and (2) to put those principles into practice to improve students' own pronunciation and aural comprehension. The knowledge gained through this course will be especially valuable to those who may teach French at some point.
Syllabus
Accessing CAS Course Share file server (where your files will be stored)
1. Before everything else, you must link your BU Kerberos password to the active directory server by filling out an online form. You will only need to do this once, and there will be a delay of up to 24 hours before your account is set up by IT after you do this.
2. Follow the instructions here to access the "RS_Courses" file server, where you will find a folder named "lf500a1 [neidle]," and in that folder, registered students will find a folder with their BU username. If you record your practice sessions (see below) and place a sample from each lesson in your folder, this will help for tracking your progress. Be sure you are repeating after the model - not just reading the examples! And please also be sure that the volume setting are correct (so that the recordings are audible).
3. The software you will use for digital audio recordings is Audacity. Here's information about how the software is used:
The instructions above are also available from the HANDOUTS section of this page.
Activities and evaluation
Final grade will be based on
- Homework, class participation, language lab work,
dialogues in class [25%]
- Oral exams and video [25%]
- Quizzes (the lowest grade will be dropped; no
make-ups for any reason) [20%]
- Two written exams plus a cumulative final exam [30%]
Final exam: Date TBA.
[Note: Do not make plans to leave Boston before this date!]
Language lab resources
Tapes available at the Geddes Language Center
- Faure et DiCristo, Le français par le dialogue
- Carduner et Hagiwara, D'accord
Geddes materials directly related to this course
Lectures de La cantatrice chauve: pièce entière;
La Leçon : http://glc.bu.edu/authorinput3.a4d?TICC=FR++6.146
Lectures des poèmes de Baudelaire
(voir aussi An anthology of French poetry,
19th century French poetry; Léo Ferré)Other related materials
Abry et Chalaron, Phonétique
Also, check out their extensive collection of French videotapes and audiotapes (including lots of French songs): video listings - audio listings
Recommended readings on French phonetics and phonology
Media to help prepare for readings
Poèmes de Baulelaire : Le Chat - Le Chat - Elévation - L'Albatros - L'Ennemi - La Vie antérieure - Harmonie du soir - Spleen - Révérsibilité - De profundis clamavi - L'Homme et la mer - La Beauté - La Fenêtre - A une dame créole
Geddes: http://glc.bu.edu/authorinput2.a4d?ISN=299
Abbreviated version of La leçon : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEfLBmVJgnM
La cantatrice chauve : 1 (pages 11 à 18) 2 (pages 18 à 26) 3 (pages 26 à 32) 4 (pages 33 à 45) 5 (pages 45 à 56) 6 (pages 56 à 68) 7 (pages 68 à 80)
Internet resources
Audio materials to accompany D'accord are available from:
http://www.bu.edu/geddes/lab/audio/daccord/index.html
broken down by lesson!the Wiley Web site.
Prononciations régionales
Les accents des Français http://www.accents-de-france.fr.st/
The Pronunciation of Canadian French (D. Walker): http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dcwalker/PronCF.pdf
A écouterPoésie
Vive Voix : anthologie sonore de poésie (Wheaton)
Chansons
chansons françaises : http://www.southwestern.edu/~prevots/songs/
la chanson en cours de FLE : http://platea.pntic.mec.es/~cvera/hotpot/chansons/index.htm
- choisissez le juke-box vidéo: http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/musique/francophone.php
- des clips pour apprendre : http://www.espacefrancophone.org/audiovisuel/fiche.htm
- reportages vidéo avec transcription - Yabla : http://sofrenchysochic.com/product/demo.php
- YOU TUBE - une longue liste
Archivox - la littérature comme vous ne l'avez jamais entendue
Listen to French on
line