MLO 2: Language and Linguistic Knowledge
The student develops an understanding of the structure of the Spanish language and is able to use an appropriate level of formality according to the situation, whether in writing or in speech.
- The student completes between two and six courses (depending on his or her choice of emphasis, as either language and linguistics knowledge or literary and cultural knowledge) related to the Spanish language and linguistics. These courses deal with: the sound system of Spanish, the history of Spanish, advanced grammar, Spanish-English translation, a general introduction to Spanish linguistics, Spanish for professional application (medical, legal, etc. spheres), composition and conversation.
- Response:
- My first semester, I took an introductory course on Phonetics and Phonology with Dr. Earl Brown. After the first week I knew that phonetics was going to be my focus of study. Phonetics is the study of the physical properties of spoken sound; along with the observation of articulation of the mouth and throat. Articulatory phonetics is the study of the combined movement of the throat, the tongue and the lips. The movement of these three variables manipulates the air generated from the lungs. Regarding consonants, place of articulation is the identified place of contact that obstructs the air flow from the lungs. The obstruction of air is what creates each speech sound, also known as phone . There are two types of place of articulation. There is active place of articulation and passive place of articulation. Active place of articulation generally involves the tongue and the upper lip, while passive place of articulation consists of the stationary variables from the teeth and gums, to the roof of the mouth back to the uvula. Place of articulation is when active, and passive articulation cause friction of passing air and create a phone. Vowels do not have the same characteristics of point of articulation as consonants do, because vowels experience little obstruction in the vocal tract. The sound of vowels is sonorous; meaning that the phone of a vowel is created by a humming resonance in the throat. When you sing in the shower, your throat hums sweet sounds consisted of vowels. We do not sing to the letter [t]. We sing to [a], [e], [i], [o], and [u].