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| Semester | fall semester 2020 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Heike Behrens (heike.behrens@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | When we try to understand the meaning of a word, utterance, or text, we draw on multiple sources of information: the lexical semantics of words, and their combination in larger units (sentences/utterances, texts), the inferences about the speaker's intention (pragmatics), and the activation of contextual information (background knowledge, situation models, multimodal information like gesture, mimics, intonation). In this lecture we will review a wide range of approaches to meaning and meaning construction (e.g., lexical semantics; formal semantics; prototype theory; cognitive linguistic approaches like metaphor theory, frame semantics; pragmatic theories like speech act and relevance theory, and more recent approaches of knowledge integration from multiple sources (embodiment, multi modality, context/situation models). In this lecture series I will present the history of theories on semantics and pragmatics, which tended to deal with these aspects in isolation, and then focus on contemporary, integrative theories (cognitive and frame semantics in linguistics, situation models in psycholinguistics, meaning making in interaction). |
| Learning objectives | The students will learn about the main proposals regarding sense and reference in semantics and well as inference in pragmatics from the logical-philosophical tradition. This survey provides them with the fundamental questions of what the study of meaning is about. In a second step, they will learn how modern semantic-pragmatic and psycholinguistic approaches deal with the process of meaning construction: What knowledge is activated by listeners when interpreting the meaning of an utterance in a particular context? Where does this knowledge come from and what methods/data allow us to study these processes? |
| Bibliography | Some relevant introductions and handbooks include: Birner, Betty. (2012). Introduction to Pragmatics. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Busse, Dietrich (2012): Frame-Semantik: Ein Kompendium. Berlin. Cruse, Alan D. (2004): Meaning in language: An introduction to semantics and pragmatics (2 Aufl.). Oxford. Dancygier, Barbara, & Sweetser, Eve. (2014). Figurative Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Enfield, Nicholas J. (2009): The anatomy of meaning: Speech, gesture, and composite utterances. Cambridge. Enfield, Nick J. (2015). The Utility of Meaning: What Words Mean and Why. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Evans, Vyvyan. (2019). Cognitive linguistics: A complete guide (2 ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Geeraerts, Dirk (2010): Theories of lexical semantics. Oxford. Griffiths, Patrick. (2006). An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Huang, Yan (Ed.) (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Löbner, Sebastian (2002): Understanding semantics. London. Pafel, Jürgen, & Reich, Ingo. (2016). Einführung in die Semantik: Grundlagen - Analysen - Theorien. Stuttgart: Metzler. Taylor, John R. (2012): The mental corpus: How language is represented in the mind. Oxford. Wilson, Deidre/Sperber, Dan (2012): Meaning and relevance. Cambridge. Zienkowski, Jan, Östman, Jan-Ola, & Verschueren, Jef (Eds.). (2011). Discursive pragmatics Amsterdam: Benjamins. |
| Comments | The lecture will take place via zoom with a mixture of synchronous sessions (summaries and discussion)and asynchronous sessions (selfstudy). |
| Course application | Student-Services |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
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No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Advanced English Linguistics (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: English Linguistics (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Forschungspraxis und Vertiefung (Master's degree program: Language and Communication) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: English) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft BA (Bachelor's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Spanish Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: German Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: French Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Slavic Studies) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Nordic Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Italian Language and Literature) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: Latin Philology) Modul: Interphilologie: Sprachwissenschaft MA (Master's degree subject: English) Modul: Sprache als System (Master's degree program: Language and Communication) |
| Assessment format | record of achievement |
| Assessment details | Written Exam, Dec 16, 2020 |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | one repetition, repetition counts |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft |