Reed College
Reed College

Lab of Linguistics

Equipment

masks

LoLsoundboothInventory

The LoL has a sound-attenuated recording booth for high-quality recordings, as well as a large inventory of equipment that can be checked out for class and thesis research. Click on the equipment name to access the user manual. 

Recording

USB microphones

These can be directly plugged into a USB port on your laptop.

XLR microphones

These need to be plugged into an XLR port, e.g. on a Zoom H4 or H4n recorder.

Audio recordersLoLrecorders
  • Zoom H2 Handy Recorder (2): Battery-operated, with internal mic, tripod stand, headphones, and hard- shell briefcase. Great for work in the field when you don’t plan to conduct an acoustic analysis later.
  • Zoom H2n Handy Recorder (4): Same as above, but in a smaller case with accessories kept separate.
  • Zoom H4 Handy Recorder (1): Battery-operated, with internal mic, XLR jack, headphones, and hard-shell briefcase. Great for work in the field when you do plan to conduct an acoustic analysis later, provided you use an AudioTechnica clip microphone (see below).
  • Zoom H4n Handy Recorder (6): Same as above, but in a smaller case with accessories kept separate.
Preamplifiers
  • Sound Devices USBPre 2 (1): A hardware interface that prepares a microphone signal for further processing by other equipment, such as a laptop. Frequently used with our Behringer condenser microphone. This preamplifier cannot be checked out of the LoL.

Articulatory research 

  • Electroglottograph (EGG): measures glottal impedance for research on voice quality
  • Aerodynamic masks: measures airflow for research on nasalization and aspiration
  • Ultrasound: tracks tongue position and glottal height for research on place of articulation
  • Static palatography equipment: for research on coronal articulations

Lock box

  • The lock box may be used to store sensitive data (e.g. participant names, contact info) collected by any student or faculty member for linguistics research, in accordance with IRB policies. The box itself is held in a locked cabinet in the LoL. 

Books

  • An ABC for Baby Linguists - Michael Bernstein, 2013
  • ˈÆlɪsɪz Ədˈventʃəz ɪn ˈWʌndəˌlænd - Lewis Carroll, transcribed in the IPA by Michael Everson, 2014 
  • A New Self-Teaching Course in Practical English and Effective Speech - Estelle B. Hunter, 1936
  • Frog, Where Are You? - Mercer Mayer, 2003
  • Speaking American: How Y'all, Youse, and You Guys Talk - Josh Katz, 2016

Policies

  • The checkout periods are as follows:
    • Microphones and recorders:  2 weeks
    • Headphones, speakers and cameras:  2 weeks
    • Laptop:  1 week
  • If you need to keep equipment for longer (e.g. for research over winter or summer break), arrange a schedule with the LoL manager.
  • Students checking out equipment must list their student ID numbers.
  • The Business Office will charge a late fee of $1/day in the event of failure to return equipment on time.
  • Anything lost or damaged while in your care must be replaced, and you will be responsible for 50% of the cost. 
  • Always return equipment directly into the Lab manager's hands.

Best practices

  • Use the user’s manual! We strongly recommend that you make a test recording, from set-up to the dropping of files, to make sure that you’ve got it all down (esp. before going into the field).

    • Click on the name of a recorder above to access the manual.

  • Check the batteries! You are responsible for replacing dead batteries.

  • Short recordings can be made directly in Praat; for recordings longer than a few minutes, use Audacity or GarageBand.

  • Save recordings as .wav files. (Learn why!)

Technical Questions? Ask the Lab Manager or fellow students first, then ask the Lab Director.