Semantics and Pragmatics (470-1-20)

Instructors

Eszter Ronai
2016 Sheridan Road
Office Hours: By appt

Meeting Info

University Library 3722: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

How do we determine that a "tall basketball player" is taller than a "tall toddler"? From "The professor was late again", why do we know she's been late before? And when I say "I ate some of the cookies", why are you likely to assume I didn't eat all of them? The field of semantics is concerned with how linguistic meaning arises from the composition of its subparts, while pragmatics is concerned with meaning that goes beyond the literal, and how speakers and hearers coordinate to communicate and derive it. Importantly, in the past two decades, these fields have experienced an ‘experimental turn', giving rise to a growing body of literature that examines theoretical problems experimentally, using the tools of psychology and cognitive science. This course will provide an overview of some major topics in experimental approaches to semantics and pragmatics, paying special attention to how linguistic theory can inform experimental design and, in turn, how experimental data can inform theory.

Registration Requirements

Graduate students in Linguistics, or permission of the instructor.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to: 1) identify and explain major concepts, experimental findings, and debates in the fields of semantics and pragmatics. 2) read original academic publications in experimental semantics/pragmatics and identify the methodologies used to address theoretical questions. 3) propose and conduct experiments testing theoretical questions in semantics/pragmatics and write summaries of experimental findings.

Teaching Method

Lecture, discussions.

Evaluation Method

Homework, class presentation, review papers, research proposal.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for LING Grads Only