Workshop on acoustics & prosody

This workshop is a concentrated, hands-on introduction to acoustics, which is the study of the physical aspects of sounds. A special focus will be on prosody, i.e. the melody and rhythm of speech. Prosody is an important component of language, performing such crucial functions as distinguishing questions from statements, highlighting new or important information and dividing speech into units for interpretation. Prosody also differs widely between languages – it is a main reason why Kalaallisut, English and Mandarin sound so different from each other - but also between dialects of the same language.

Participating students will learn the basics of acoustic analysis and practical skills for conducting experimental prosody research. This includes how to match research questions and methods, consideration in designing studies and the different technical skills for different steps of the research process. While the focus is on the acoustics backgrounds and skills necessary for research on prosody, the workshop will also teach knowledge and skills relevant for other types of research on sound, for example how to distinguish different consonants and vowels based on acoustic measurements.

Read more about the workshop, and sign up here (free of charge).