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ENG508 : Semantics and Pragmatics

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Course Info

Course Category

English

Course Level

Undergraduate

Credit Hours

3

Pre-requisites

N/A

Instructor

Dr. Muhammad Islam
PhD Applied Linguistics
University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

Course Contents

INTRODUCTION TO SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS Definition of Semantics and Pragmatics The Borderline between Semantics and Pragmatics Sentence and Utterance Language and Logic The Explicit and the Implicit SEMANTICS AND LINGUISTICS Semantics in Linguistics Semantics in a Model of Grammar Historical Semantics Semantics in Other Disciplines Semantics and Semiotics IMPORTANT ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT SEMANTICS Reference and Sense Utterance, Sentence and Proposition Utterance, Sentence and Proposition -Activities Literal and Non-Literal Meaning Semantics and Pragmatics THEORIES OF MEANING What Is meaning? Meaning Holism -Meaning within Language Idea Theory of Meaning Meanings Are out in the World Meaning of Sentences and Truth Condition Putting Meaning Together from Pieces – Compositional Theory KINDS OF MEANING Linguistic/Conceptual Meaning Connotative/Referential Meaning Social Meaning Affective Meaning Reflective and Collocative Meaning Thematic Meaning MEANING, THOUGHT AND REALITY Sense and Concepts Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Prototypes Linguistic Relativity The Language of Thought Hypothesis LEXICAL RELATIONS – I What are Lexical Relations? Words and Lexical Items Problems with Pinning Down Word Meaning Homonym and Polysemy Synonyms and Antonyms LEXICAL RELATIONS – II Hyponym Meronymy Causative Verbs and Agentive Nouns Colour Terms Core Vocabulary and Universal Lexemes LEXICAL SEMANTICS: FIELDS AND COLLOCATION Introduction Pragmatic and Syntagmatic Relations – I Pragmatic and Syntagmatic Relations – II Semantic Fields Collocations Idioms SENTENCE RELATIONS AND TRUTH Logic and Truth Propositional Logic Predicate Logic Entailment Truth Conditional Semantics PRESUPPOSITION Introduction Two Approaches to Presupposition Presupposition Failure Presupposition Triggers Presupposition and Context SENTENCE SEMANTICS – I: SITUATIONS Introduction: Classifying Situations Tense and Aspect Modality Mood Evidentiality SENTENCE SEMANTICS – II: PARTICIPANTS Introduction: Classifying Participants Thematic Roles – I (Agent, Patient, Theme, Experiencer) Thematic Roles – II (Beneficiary, Instrument, Location, Goal, Source, Stimulus) Identifying Thematic Roles Problems with Thematic Roles SEMANTICS AND GRAMMAR Formal Grammar Grammatical Categories Grammar and Lexicon Grammatical Relations Case Grammar FORMAL SEMANTICS TODAY Diversity within Formal Semantics Relationship with other Varieties of Semantics Relationship with other Fields Semantics and Society - I Semantics and Society - II SEMANTICS AND DICTIONARY Practical Dictionary Theoretical Dictionary Lexical Rules (Graded Accessibility) Types of Lexical Rules Other Observations about Lexical Rules INTRODUCTION TO PRAGMATICS What is Pragmatics? Types of Pragmatics What Does Pragmatics Study? Pragmatics and Linguistics The Emergence of Pragmatics as a Distinct Field HISTORY OF PRAGMATIC Development and Expansion of Pragmatics Pragmatics and Ordinary Language The Term ‘Pragmatics’ The Prehistory of Pragmatics Modern Pragmatics CONTEXT AND PRAGMATICS Introduction to Context and Pragmatics Situational Context Background Knowledge Context Co-textual Context Exploring Context LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT: REFERENCE Introduction to Reference Referring to the Context Outside: Exophora Referring to the Context Inside: Cohesion Grammatical Cohesion Lexical Cohesion COOPERATIVE PRINCIPLE Introduction Observing the Maxims Flouting the Maxims Violating the Maxims Limitations of the Cooperative Principle RELEVANCE THEORY What Is Relevance Theory? Principles of Relevance Theory Explicatures and Implicatures Conceptual and Procedural Meaning Accessibility and Limitations of Relevance Theory IMPLICATURE – I What Is Implicature? Conversational Implicature Generalized Conversational Implicature Scalar Implicature Particularized Conversational Implicature IMPLICATURE – II Properties of Conversational Implicature Conventional Implicature Properties of Conventional Implicature Strong Implicature Weak Implicature DEIXIS- I What is Deixis? Spatial Deixis Person Deixis Social Deixis Temporal Deixis DEIXIS- II Discourse Deixis Deictic Reference Deictic Center The Limits of Indexicality Raising Pragmatic Awareness PRESUPPOSITION AND ENTAILMENT IN PRAGMATICS Introduction Types of Presupposition The Projection Problem Ordered Entailments Presupposition in the Real World SPEECH ACTS THEORY Introduction to Speech Acts Austin’s Speech Act Theory Searle’s Speech Act Theory Felicity Conditions Direct and Indirect Speech Acts SPEECH ACTS AND SOCIETY Social Dimensions Cultural Dimensions Limitations of Speech Act Theory Macro-functions Exploring Speech Acts POLITENESS THEORY What Is Politeness Theory? Face Wants Negative and Positive Face Say Something: Off and On Record Positive and Negative Politeness Politeness Strategies POLITENESS AND CONTEXT Form and Function Situational Context Social Context Cultural Context Applying Politeness CONVERSATIONAL ANALYSIS What Is Conversational Analysis? Turn-Taking Pauses, Overlaps and Backchannels Adjacency Pairs Preference Structure Sequences CULTURE AND LANGUAGE LEARNING Cross-cultural Pragmatics Intercultural Pragmatics Inter-language Pragmatics Listener Behavior in CCP Referential Communication COMPUTER SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS Computers and Linguistics Computers, Corpora and Semantics Computers and the Study of Translation Computers and Pragmatics Computers, Speech Acts and Conversation INFORMATION STRUCTURE AND PRAGMATICS Introduction to Information Structure Given and New Information Topics and Contrast Definite and Referential Expressions Generic and Specific Expressions RESEARCH IN PRAGMATICS The Nature of Pragmatic Investigation Collecting Data for Pragmatic Analysis Transcription of Conversation Investigable Topics Learning by Doing KEY TERMS IN PRAGMATICS-I Ambiguity, Disambiguation and Vagueness Attributive Concept and Argumentation Theory / Referential / Attributive Distinction Code Model Communicative Competence Demonstrative Ellipsis KEY TERMS IN PRAGMATICS-II Folk Pragmatics Formal and Experimental Pragmatics Cognitive Pragmatics Fragment Metaphor and Synecdoche Hyperbole and Irony KEY TERMS IN PRAGMATICS-III I-Principle and M-Principle Q-Principle and R-Principle Linguistic Under - Determinacy Thesis Manifestness and Markedness Misfire Prosody and Tautology KEY THINKERS IN PRAGMATICS John Langshaw Austin Noam Avram Chomsky Herbert Paul Grice Stephen C. Levinson John Rogers Searle INTERACTIONAL CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY Introduction Role of Sociocultural Factors in Identity Action Theory Studies of Identities Occasioning Identity Work Identity Work in an Educational Context LANGUAGE, GENDER, AND POWER Enactment of Gender in Language Use Language and Gender: Western and Non-Western perspectives Power: Language and Gender Working of Language and Power: Political Discourse Gender and Power Interactions CLASSROOM PRAGMATIC DEVELOPMENT Introduction Why Is Pragmatic Competence Important for 2nd Language Learners? Can Pragmatic Competence be Taught or Learnt in Instructed Context? What Gets in the Way of Developing Pragmatic Competence in a Classroom? What can be Done to Facilitate Teaching and Learning of Pragmatic Competence? Training in Pragmatics Outside the Traditional Language Classroom?