Module manager: James Wilson
Email: j.a.wilson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Familiarity with the Cyrillic alphabet and a basic grasp of spoken Russian are essential.
| SLAV3117 | The Sounds of Russian |
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module focuses on the Russian sound system, Contemporary Standard Russian pronunciation and regional phonological variation in Russia and other Russian-speaking countries. You will be introduced to disciplines of linguistics such as phonetics, phonology, sociolinguistics and dialectology. You will study the relationship between phonetics and phonology (and the phone and phoneme), the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and conventions of transliteration and phonemic/phonetic transcription, the phonology of modern Russian, and issues in Russian dialectology and sociolinguistics. The module is of practical value to your general language studies in that you will cover in depth various phonetic and phonological processes affecting pronunciation. You will also be introduced to linguistic fieldwork and methods of gathering and analysing speech and you will propose a hypothetical empirical sociolinguistic study. The module is taught and assessed in English. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The module aims to introduce students to:
- phonetics and phonology;
- linguistic conventions and transcription systems;
- the phonological system and rules of Russian;
- regional variation in Russia;
- sociolinguistics and dialectology.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. demonstrate a solid understanding of the Russian sound system and the main phonological rules affecting consonants and vowels;
2. understand and address key issues affecting learners’ pronunciation in Russian;
3. use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), appropriate systems of transliteration and phonemic/phonetic writing;
4. demonstrate an understanding of relevant topics in Russian and Slavonic dialectology and sociolinguistics, including knowledge of methodologies commonly used to plan, carry out and analyse the results of an empirical language analysis;
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. critically evaluate key arguments and perspectives in relevant scholarship;
6. apply concepts and research techniques and methodologies to empirical evidence to produce an independent research output;
7. sustain an analytical argument in written work.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminar | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will complete a formative project case study at the end of semester 1. Students’ progress will also be monitored via:
- weekly homework tasks
- contributions to seminar discussions
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 70 |
| Coursework | Practical Assignment | 30 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 25/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team