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Phonology from the Inside Out: Constructed Language as a Pedagogical Tool

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2024

Sara Sowers-Wills
Sara Sowers-Wills*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, United States
*
Email: sowe0034@d.umn.edu
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Abstract

This paper reflects on a project-based curriculum employing constructed languages to teach linguistics, with a focus on phonology. In a special topics linguistics course, nine students were led through the construction of a language. While students in introductory linguistics courses sometimes struggle with phonology, active engagement with a semester-long language construction project endowed these students with the practical motivation to understand (1) what phonology is, (2) how phonological rules work, and (3) why rules surface in the first place. They readily captured generalizations based on natural classes of sounds, recognizing the systematicity of their constructed phonology. Student performance and engagement in this course support the use of constructed languages as a pedagogical tool in linguistics. Because an ongoing project builds in problem-solving opportunities and processual thinking, highlighting relationships among key concepts, students achieve a more comprehensive understanding of core areas in the broader linguistic picture.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article se penche sur un programme d’études basé sur des projets employant des langues construites pour enseigner la linguistique, en particulier la phonologie. Dans le cadre d'un cours spécial de linguistique, neuf étudiants ont été guidés dans la construction d'une langue. Alors que les étudiants des cours d'introduction à la linguistique éprouvent parfois des difficultés avec la phonologie, leur engagement actif dans un projet de construction linguistique tout au long d'un semestre a donné à ces étudiants une motivation pratique pour comprendre (1) ce qu'est la phonologie, (2) comment fonctionnent les règles phonologiques et (3) pourquoi les règles émergent-elles de toute façon. Ils ont facilement saisi des généralisations basées sur des classes naturelles de sons, reconnaissant le caractère systématique de leur phonologie construite. Le rendement et l'engagement des étudiants dans ce cours étayent la pertinence d'employer des langues construites comme outil pédagogique en linguistique. Comme les projets continus intègrent des possibilités de résolution de problèmes et une réflexion procédurale, mettant en évidence les relations entre les concepts clés, les étudiants parviennent à une compréhension plus complète des domaines essentiels de la linguistique plus généralement.

Keywords

constructed languagephonologyproject-based learningactive learningpedagogylangues construitesphonologiepédagogie de projetapprentissage actifenseignement
Type
Thematic Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 69 , Issue 3 , September 2024 , pp. 307 - 332
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Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2024

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