Dr. Lawrence F. Glatz

Objectives / Required Text / Student Evaluation / Attendance / Examinations / Course Calendar / German Resources / German Language Archive

Please read the content of this syllabus carefully. It contains most of the general information which you will need for this course.

The semester is broken into the topics and assignments which we will cover, but the exact pace is subject to change. Please consult the Course Calendar for updated information. 

You will find here information on the objectives and student outcomes of the course, the rmaterials and additional sources, student evaluation, attendance policy, and examinations.

To contact me outside of class or office hours, you can also make arrangements by phone or Email. In order to contact all students individually and as a group, please check your MetroConnect account regularly.

Please also review the policies of the Modern Languages Department at: http://www.mscd.edu/mdl/about/policies.shtml.

The NC (No Credit) option is available without the instructor's signature until February 17, 2009, and with the instructor's signature until April 6, 2009.

Prerequisite: Two years of college German or equivalent or permission of instructor.

German 3150 will introduce you to the study of the German phonetics in both theory and practice. This course covers improvement of pronunciation and speech habits based on an understanding of the phonetics of German.

After an introduction to the basic speech mechanism through the principles of linguistics, the course offers practice in pronunciation through exercises which contrast various sounds, and the declamation of selected texts. The course also offers the opportunity to hone research and individual presentation skills.

This course covers improvement of pronunciation and speech habits based on an understanding of the phonetics of German. The course introduces and examines in depth the basic speech mechanism through principles of linguistics, while offering practice in pronunciation through the declamation of selected texts and presenting common patterns in German dialects.

Upon completion of this course the student should be able to:

1.  Demonstrate significant improvement of pronunciation, accentuation and intonation according to explanations and theories presented in class;

2.  Demonstrate knowledge of general linguistic theory as it applies to the field of phonetics and phonology;

3.  Demonstrate clear comprehension of terminology applied to the sounds of German vowels and consonants;

4.  Demonstrate the ability to describe the varieties of German spoken in the German world, in a general way.

If you have questions that you need to ask outside the class time or office hours, feel free to contact Dr. Glatz!

What is the required Text?

Modern German Pronunciation: An Introduction for Speakers of English, by Christopher Hall (Malgrave, 2003). The two cassette tapes - not sold with the book - will be provided by the instructor for the semester. (= MGP)

Another source will be used extensively for material presented in class:

Aussprachekurs Deutsch, by Ulrike A. Kaunzer (Julius Groos, 1997). The expensive CD-ROMs of pronunciation exercises will be used in class. Oral Exercises are at kaunzner1.pdf and kaunzner2.pdf and Vocabulary at kaunzner3.pdf . (= Kaunzner)

Students will have a final course grade based on the following work:

• 15% Quizzes, participation in discussions, and practice oral exercises in class
• 25% Five oral homework assignments to be submitted as a sound file ( .mp3 preferred) by email attachment (5% each)
• 5% Presentation in German on an assigned German dialect, based on the Wenkerschen Testsätze zur Mundartforschung at: http://www.mscd.edu/~mdl/alledialekte/dialektemain.htm or http://mailer.fsu.edu/~weadolph/courses/phon/dialekte.html. IPA at http://www.lawrenceglatz.com/germ3150/testsaetze.htm .
• 20% Written version of the presentation (Submitted in advance of the presentation!)
• 15% Midterm Examination
• 25% Final Examination

MDL Departmental Grading Scale:

Letter Grade = Numeric Range

A = 90% to 100%
B = 80% to 89%
C = 70% to 79%
D = 60% to 69%
F =   0% to 59%

Calculations with a decimal ending in .01 to .49 are rounded down to the whole number;
Calculations with a decimal ending in .50 to .99 are rounded up to the whole number.

The software recommended for recording is Audacity at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows . If you choose this software, please also install the .mp3 export encoder plugin at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3 .

Attendance is a must! Each student is allowed 3 unexcused absences.

An excused absence is one in which the student can notify the instructor, in advance if possible, concerning a circumstance of greater importance or serious illness.

Attendance is very important owing to participation in the discussions and learning from the various presentations.

The course material will be tested in two examinations concentrating on the phonetic descriptions of words, short answer questions and vocabulary questions. The first examination in the eigth week of the course will cover the topics up to that date and be 15% of the total course grade. The second examination during Finals week will be comprehensive, covering the entire semester, and count for 20% of the total course grade.

Links:

German Resources Phonetics Page at: http://www.lawrenceglatz.com/germ3150/phonetics.htm 

and 

http://www.mscd.edu/~mdl/gerresources/phonetics.htm 

(This one will probably not be undated as much!)

Resources: http://www.lawrenceglatz.com/germ3150/resources.htm

IPA Unicode: http://www.lawrenceglatz.com/germ3150/ipaunicode.htm