An Introduction to Phonetics with Tengwar and Hangeul (Spring 2010)

Course description

Ever wondered how speakers of foreign languages and actors that play aliens in sci-fi movies make such bizarre sounds? Do you want to expand your sound inventory and make some of those sounds yourself? Are you interested in learning how to decipher Korean or the flowing Elvish letters from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy? Join us for a tour of the basics of phonetics and you can learn a few new alphabets on the side!

The class begins with a look at Tolkien's Tengwar and the Korean Hangeul, two writing systems that are closely tied to the science of speech. Once you know the basic rules of these scripts, both can be learned in only a few hours of practice. We will then explore the full diversity of the sounds of human language, from the simple places and manners of articulation to clicks, ejectives, and more.