| Time | Days | Location | Instructor | GER | Credit | OPUS Class Number | Syllabus (Tentative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10:40am-11:30am | MWF | Tarbutton Hall 218 | Marjorie Pak. | HSC. | 4 | 2279 | TBA. |
August 24, 2011- December 06, 2011
Prerequisites: Some background in syntax and general linguistic theory is necessary. If you have not taken LING-201 or LING-212, please consult with the instructor before enrolling.
Catalog Description: The course focuses on the study of meaning in language, particularly from the perspectives of semantics (the study of how meaning is related to words and sentences) and pragmatics (the study of how meaning is realized during communication in specific contexts of use).
Semester Details: Much of the language you hear over the course of a day consists of sentences you have never heard before, and yet you are able to understand them. How is this possible? The principle of compositionality states that the meaning of a sentence is determined by combining the meanings of the words it contains. In the first part of this course, students will learn a system for doing just this - combining phrase structure trees and computing the meanings that result, using the formal language of predicate logic to represent sentence meanings. Then, in the second part of the course, we'll focus on utterance meaning - aspects of meaning that go beyond what is shown in the predicate logic. For example, what enables us to understand a sentence like There's ice cream on your shirt as a simple informative description in some contexts, as an accusation in others, and as a warning in still others? We'll discuss speech acts, implicature, information structure, and other aspects of utterance meaning as we explore the close relationship between semantics and pragmatics.
Required Textbooks, Articles, and Resources
- All required readings will be made available online.
Grading
| Assignment/Exam | Details | % of Total Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Active class participation and discussion of assigned readings, homework assignments, quizzes, and a short final paper. |
The schedule of courses on O.P.U.S. is the official listing of courses, including days and times they meet and the General Education Requirements they satisfy. Students should use course descriptions as general guidelines. Course requirements, grading details, book lists, and syllabi are subject to change.