Admission requirements
Basic understanding of syntax and semantics, or willingness to acquire these through self-guided study.
Description
In this block course, we explore how the use of a linguistic expression in context can communicate meaning beyond its narrow semantic content. Various explanations have been proposed both for the reasons why utterances may communicate something more or something different from the sum of the meanings of their constituent parts, and the processes by which this is achieved. After introducing some basic distinctions, we focus on developments in (post-)Gricean pragmatics, especially, notions and types of implicature (conventional, generalized conversational, particularized conversational; scalar), impliciture, and explicature. We then tackle theories of speech acts and explore indirect speech acts and proposed explanations. Theoretical concepts are explained and applied to real-world examples through weekly take-home assignments.
Course objectives
Develop an understanding of different levels of meaning (compositional, truth-conditional, implicated) and the processes by which these are generated according to different theoretical frameworks.
Develop ability to compare the suitability of these frameworks to explain different linguistic phenomena.
Practise applying these frameworks to real-life examples
Reflect on and critically assess current debates in linguistic pragmatics
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Research
Assessment method
Take home examination/assignment
Active Participation/coöperation in class/group
Essay, paper
Assessment
Weighing
Take home examination/assignment 25%
Active Participation/coöperation in class/group 25%
Essay, paper 50%
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
In case the paper has an insufficient grade, a resit can be taken.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
Recommended textbook (not required):
Birner, Betty (2013) Introduction to Pragmatics. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Additional background readings (! marks most introductory)
! Blakemore, Diane (1992) Understanding utterances. Oxford, UK; Cambridge, Mass., USA: Blackwell.
! Cutting, Joan (2015) Pragmatics and discourse: a resource book for students. London: Routledge.
Deppermann Arnulf & Michael Haugh (eds.) Action ascription in interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Green, Georgia (1996) Pragmatics and natural language understanding. Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum.
Huang, Yan (2007) Pragmatics. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Jaszczolt, Kasia (2002) Semantics and pragmatics: meaning in language and discourse. London: Longman.
Levinson, Stephen (1983) Pragmatics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
! Mey, Jacob (2001) Pragmatics: an introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. Second edition.
Noveck, Ira (2018) Experimental pragmatics: The making of a cognitive science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sbisà, Marina, Essays on speech acts and other topics in pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
! Thomas, Jenny (1995) Meaning in interaction: an introduction to pragmatics. London; New York: Longman.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats
Remarks
None.