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Professor Marjorie Chan's Syllabus

Chinese 782: Chinese Phonology (Autumn Quarter 1995)

INSTRUCTOR: Professor Marjorie Chan
366 Cunz Hall
Tel: 292-3619 (Office) | 292-5816 (Dept)
Office Hours: F 1:00 - 2:00 p.m., or by appt.
Internet e-mail: chan.9 @osu.edu (close the gap)

CLASSROOM
& TIMES		 204 Central Classroom Building
F 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.

CREDITS: U G 3

PREREQUISITES: Chinese 680 or 681, or permission of instructor

TEXTBOOKS:

Reading selections are placed in 208 Cunz Hall. Please remove articles only for xeroxing, and leave the file folders in the box. Some books have also been placed on reserve in Main Library (on 3-day loans).

PURPOSE OF THE COURSE:

This course serves as a further study of modern (Mandarin) Chinese phonology beyond the introductory level (Chinese 680, 681). The course is divided into two parts. Part I covers important aspects of synchronic Chinese phonetics/phonology, including both segmental and suprasegmental phonology. Readings and class discussions will be supplemented by acoustic analyses of speech sounds. Also studied will be the interface of phonology with other linguistic levels (e.g., morphology, syntax, semantics). Part II explores some issues in modern Chinese phonology from a cognitive-functional approach, touching upon such topics as (non-)arbitrariness and iconicity (with respect to sound symbolism), and prototypes (with respect to linguistic categorization). Hence, Part II will include readings and discussions on such topics as gender-marked speech and sound symbolism. Readings in this course include classic works as well as recent literature on modern Chinese phonology. The course aims to provide students with some cognitive and functional perspectives for further pedagogical and/or theoretical linguistic research.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES:

Be prepared to discuss the assigned readings during class. Submit two squibs/short reaction papers (circa 5 double-spaced typed pages each), based on class readings. Presentation of new, or supplementary, data is especially encouraged. More details will be given later.

GRADING:

Grades are based on student attendance and participation, and on two squibs/short reaction papers. Those students taking two credit hours of Chinese 693 from instructor may choose to extend one of the papers or write a third one for the extra credit hours.

SCHEDULE

WEEK 1 Introduction
Sept 22 Background Reading (Optional):
. Clark & Yallop (1990), Ch. 1& 10
. Durand (1990), Ch.1, p.3-24 only
. Ladefoged (1993), Ch.1

PART I: MODERN CHINESE PHONOLOGY

WEEK 2 Segmental Phonology: Syllable Structure and Initials
Sept 29 Readings (for Weeks 2&3):
. Chao (1968), Ch.1.3.1 - 1.3.3, and 1.3.9
. Cheng (1973), Ch.1 - 2, Ch.5
. Kratochvil (1968), Ch.2.1
. Hu (1991a, on the phonetic value of /w/ in Beijing Mandarin)

WEEK 3 Segmental Phonology: Finals
Oct 6 (cont'd)

WEEK 4 Suprasegmental Phonology: Tone and Stress
Oct 13 Readings (for Weeks 4&5):
. Chao (1968), Ch.1.3.4 - 1.3.7
. Cheng (1973), Ch.6.1 - 6.2; Ch.7.1 - 7.2
. Kratochvil (1968), Ch.2.2

WEEK 5 Suprasegmental Phonology: Intonation and Sentence-Final Particles
Oct 20 Additional Reading:
. Shen (1989, on tone and intonation)
. Erbaugh (1985, on S-final particles

WEEK 6 Interface of Phonology with Other Grammatical Levels
Oct 27 Readings:
. On r-suffixation: Chao (1968), Ch.1.3.8, pp.46-52 only
(but feel free to read through Ch.1.3.8 to end of the chapter)
. On neutral tone phenomena: Hung (1989), Ch.3

PART II: ISSUES IN MODERN CHINESE PHONOLOGY

WEEK 7 Gender-Marked Speech
Nov 3 Readings:
. Hu (1991b, on feminine accent (Chinese version in Hu 1991c))
. Farris (1995, on sajiao)

WEEK 8 VETERANS' DAY — No Class
Nov 10 Readings:
. Hinton et al. (1994, on a typology of sound symbolism)
. Ohala (1994, on the sound-symbolic use of voice pitch)
(These two articles are the background readings for Week 9.)

WEEK 9 Sound Symbolism
Nov 17 Lecture by M. Chan: "Typology of Sound Symbolism and the Chinese Language"
(If time permits, start reading ahead on Taylor (1989).)

WEEK 10 COLUMBUS DAY OBSERVED — No Class
Nov 24 Readings:
. Taylor (1989), Ch.1-4, and Ch.12
(Scan Chapter 1-4 for background on the classical approach to
categorization, including its application to phonology (you may skip Ch.2.3).
Then read Chapter 12 on prototype categories in phonology, and reflect
on what cases, if any, can be cited from Chinese phonology.)

WEEK 11 Linguistic Categorization and Prototypes: Case of Tone 2 vs. Tone 3
Dec 1 Readings:
. Blicher et al. (1990)
. Shen and Lin (1991)

READINGS PACKAGE
(Chinese in Big-5 code)

Blicher, Deborah L. Randy L. Diehl and Leslie B. Cohen. 1990. "Effects of syllable duration on the perception of the Mandarin Tone 2/Tone 3 distinction: evidence of auditory enhancement." Journal of Phonetics 18:37-49.

Chao, Yuen Ren. 1968. A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Excerpt: Chapter 1.3, "Phonology".)

Cheng, Chin-chuan. 1973. A Synchronic Phonology of Mandarin Chinese. The Hague: Mouton. (Excerpts: Chapter 1, "Introduction"; Chapter 2, "Finals"; Chapter 5, "Initials", Chapter 6, "Tones".)

Farris, Catherine S. 1995. "A semeiotic analysis of sajiao as a gender marked communication style in Chinese." In: Unbound Taiwan: Closeups from a Distance, edited by Marshall Johnson and Fred Y.L. Chiu. (Select Papers Volume No. 8.) Chicago: Center for East Asian Studies, University of Chicago. Pp.1-29.

Erbaugh, Mary S. 1985. "Sentence final particles as an Asian areal feature." Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting of the Pacific Linguistics Conference, edited by Scott DeLancey and Russell S. Tomlin. Eugene: Dept. of Linguistics, University of Oregon. Pp.84-96.

Hinton, Leanne, Johanna Nichols, and John J. Ohala. 1994. "Introduction." In: Sound Symbolism, edited by Leanne Hinton, Johanna Nichols, and John J. Ohala. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 1-12.

Hu, Mingyang ­J ©ú ´­. 1991a. "¥_ ¨Ê ¸Ü Án ¥À W ­µ ­È." (Phonetic value of W initial in Beijing speech). In: »y ¨¥ ¾Ç ½× ¤å ¿ï (Selected Writings in Linguistics). Beijing: Zhongguo Renmin Daxue Chubanshe. Pp. 244-245.

Hu, Mingyang. 1991b. "Feminine accent in the Beijing vernacular: a sociolinguistic investigation." Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association XXVI.1:49-54. (Chinese version in: Hu Mingyang. 1991c. "¥_ ¨Ê ¸Ü '¤k °ê ­µ'" In: »y ¨¥ ¾Ç ½× ¤å ¿ï (Selected Writings in Linguistics). Beijing: Zhongguo Renmin Daxue Chubanshe. Pp. 230-243.)

Hung, Tony T.N. 1989. Syntactic and Semantic Aspects of Chinese Tone Sandhi. Bloomington: Indiana University Linguistics Club Publications. (Excerpt: Chapter 3, "Some neutral tone phenomena in Beijing Mandarin", pp.45-63.)

Kratochvil, Paul. 1968. The Chinese Language Today. London: Hutchinson University Library. (Excerpt: Chapter 2, "Phonemics", pp.23-54.)

Ohala, John J. 1994. "The frequency code underlies the sound-symbolic use of voice pitch" In: Sound Symbolism, edited by Leanne Hinton, Johanna Nichols, and John J. Ohala. Cambridge, England: Cambridge. University Press. Pp.325-347.

Shen, Xiao-nan. 1989. "Interplay of the four citation tones and intonation in Mandarin Chinese." Journal of Chinese Linguistics 17.1:61-74.

Shen, Xiaonan Susan and Maocan Lin. 1991. "A perceptual study of Mandarin tones 2 and 3." Language and Speech 34.2:145-156.

Taylor, John R. 1989. Linguistic Categorization: Prototypes in Linguistic Theory. New York: Oxford University Press. (Excerpts: Chapters 1-4, pp.1-80 (for background); Chapter 12, "Prototype categories in phonology", pp.222-238.)

BOOKS REQUESTED FOR PLACING ON RESERVE IN MAIN LIBRARY
(3-Day Loans)

Chao, Yuen Ren. 1968. A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of Berkeley Press. [PL1137.S6 C5 1968]

Cheng, Chin-chuan. 1973. A Synchronic Phonology of Mandarin Chinese. The Hague: Mouton. [PL1201 .C4205]

Clark, John and Colin Yallop. 1990. An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, Inc. (Chapters 1 and 10.) (Library does not have the new 2nd ed.)
[P217 .C65 1990]

Durand, Jacques. 1990. Generative and Non-Linear Phonology. London: Longman.
[P217.3 .D87 1990]

Hinton, Leanne, Johanna Nichols, and John J. Ohala (eds.) 1994 . Sound Symbolism.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. [P119 .S68 1994]

Kratochvil, Paul. 1968. The Chinese Language Today. London: Hutchinson University Library.
[PL1087 .K7]

Taylor, John R. 1989. Linguistic Categorization: Prototypes in Linguistic Theory. New York: Oxford University Press. [P128 .C37 T38 1989]

NOTE: Content, format, readings, and requirements for the course are subject to change. This syllabus serves only as a guide to the instructor's future offering of Chinese 782.
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This course page was created on 6 June 1996 as an archival copy, after the course was offered.
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Copyright © 1996-1999 Marjorie K.M. Chan. All rights reserved.