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French Lyric Diction (MUSI30262)

Undergraduate level 3Points: 6.25On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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Semester 1
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The French language comprises one of the “big three” of the Western classical vocal repertoire. This subject aims to address both authentic pronunciation and communication of meaning of the French language as represented by the French art song canon. Attention will be paid to the authentic pronunciation of speech sounds, as well as to aspects of prosody such as syllabification, stress, liaison, elision and hiatus. The differences between spoken and sung French will be explored. Students will be taught the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as it applies to French, and will be introduced to poetic texts from the French Art Song literature. Written phonetic transcriptions will form a part of the assessment process.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  • Read and write French song texts in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as applied to French
  • Recognise and correctly use the features of French prosody (syllabification, stress etc.)
  • Recognise and correctly pronounce French vowels, semi-consonants and consonants
  • Understand and implement the special rules of French Lyric Diction
  • Prepare a French text using the Leyerle Three-Line Phonetic Translation System, consisting of the original text, a word-for-word translation and an IPA transcription
  • Recite a French poem demonstrating correct pronunciation, appropriate phrasing, an understanding of the text and an awareness of the special rules of French Lyric Diction

Generic skills

Last updated: 3 November 2022