The required courses in the regular linguistics program provide the background needed to understand the basic questions in the field of phonology and phonetics and to address them with traditional methods of data collection: elicitation from native speakers and information compiled from dictionaries, grammars, texts, etc. The course of study outlined below broadens the range of tools available to address these questions and considers how phonological grammars interface with other modules of the grammar (syntax, semantics, morphology) and how they are shaped by such factors as speech perception and production and the acquisition process.

Core Faculty

Cooperating Faculty

Emeritus Faculty

Curriculum

Students choosing phonology & phonetics as their Area of Specialization take six advanced-level courses in phonology-related areas (= five beyond those required by the Common Curriculum). Students in the program also attend weekly research group meetings after completing the first two years of the curriculum.

Required Courses

  • 24.963, Linguistic Phonetics
  • 24.964, Topics in Phonology (also satisfies the advanced seminar requirement of the Common Curriculum)
  • 24.967, Topics in Experimental Phonology

Three additional advanced courses in phonology, phonetics, morphology or psycholinguistics such as:

  • 6.542J/24.966J, Laboratory on the Physiology, Acoustics, and Perception of Speech
  • HST.714 Acoustics, Production and Perception of Speech
  • 24.965, Morphology
  • 24.981, Topics in Computational Phonology
  • Interface Seminars: e.g. Intonation; Psycholinguistic Experimentation and Cognitive Models; Speech Production

Phonology Circle

All students in the program who have completed their first two years toward the Ph.D. in Linguistics are expected to attend and to participate actively in Phonology Circle, a weekly meeting where they present work in progress, read and discuss current literature, and interact with guest speakers.