L310 Laboratory Phonology
Easter Vacation work
Your task over the Easter Vacation is to make some recordings from the radio and some preliminary transcriptions based on them. Use regular audio tape and try to record the programme(s) at as high a quality as you can.
What to concentrate on. We are going to work next term on the phonetic and phonological structure of lists. We will build up a collection of lists from among the whole group. Try to collect about half a dozen lists. You will probably need to record about an hour’s worth of material.
Type of programme. You must record a programme that is not scripted. This means no news programmes or quite many documentaries. Good ideas would be
- phone-in programmes (local radio stations often have programmes where people discuss their problems; Today on Radio 4 has a major interview every morning at 7.10 and 8.10am; there are often programmes where people call in to discuss something that has just been on, eg. Any Answers (R4)). The advantage of phone-ins is that you have access to the same things that the speakers do, i.e. just their voices.
- discussion programmes, eg. review programmes, discussing films, books, cultural ideas; interviews with well-known people; politics or money.
What to do next. Transcribe your lists orthographically. You don’t need to worry too much about the details at this point: just write down where it is on the tape, and who is speaking. Make sure you keep careful records of the date of recording, the programme, the time and the radio station.
During term there will be introductory lectures about the methodology, transcription practices, and the significance of lists. But we will spend most of our time from week 3 onwards listening to examples of your material and making observations on them, so it is essential that you have got your collection built up by the end of the vacation.