FREN 340 - Phonetics and Francophone Identities

Credits: (3)
This course examines the linguistic characteristics of the French-speaking communities around the world. After studying the basic elements of French linguistics, the International Phonetic Alphabet, the position of speech organs in the production of the principal phonemes of standard French, and speech intonation patterns, students analyze the French language as it is spoken in Africa, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Louisiana, and the Caribbean. Additionally, students consider the history of the French language, the development of French-based creoles, and the formation of vocabulary both formal and slang in a variety of French-speaking regions in order to gain further insight into the nature of Francophone identities. Prerequisite(s): FREN 301 or equivalent.