Week 5 · Phonology and Graphology 语音层与图式层

Oct 12, 2026 · ← Course home

Planned session. The two outermost rungs of the ladder. Phonology: sound patterning — alliteration, assonance, rhyme — rhythm and metre (yes, we scan a line of iambic pentameter together), and how sound choices earn their effects in poetry and beyond. Graphology: the visual stuff of texts — spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, typography, lineation in verse, and the graphological play of advertising (董启明 Ch. 12 makes a first appearance).

These layers look decorative but do real semantic work; we practise saying precisely what that work is, in retrievable terms.

Key concepts: sound patterning; metre and rhythm; deviation at the phonological and graphological levels; foregrounding.

Reading: Simpson’s units on sound and patterning; 董启明 Ch. 12 (advertising).

Slides and materials will be posted here after class.