Logo UAB
2020/2021

Semantics and Pragmatics

Code: 100239 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500243 Classics OT 3 0
2500243 Classics OT 4 0
2500245 English Studies OT 3 0
2500245 English Studies OT 4 0
2500247 Catalan Language and Literature OT 4 0
2500248 Spanish Language and Literature OT 3 0
2500248 Spanish Language and Literature OT 4 0
2501801 Catalan and Spanish OT 3 0
2501801 Catalan and Spanish OT 4 0
2501902 English and Catalan OT 3 0
2501902 English and Catalan OT 4 0
2501907 English and Classics OT 3 0
2501907 English and Classics OT 4 0
2501910 English and Spanish OT 3 0
2501910 English and Spanish OT 4 0
2501913 English and French OT 3 0
2501913 English and French OT 4 0
2503998 Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
M TERESA Espinal Farré
Email:
Teresa.Espinal@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

Se recomienda ser capaz de leer en inglés, aunque las clases serán en catalán.

Prerequisites

Students must be familiar with the most basic concepts on the structure and use of language.

Objectives and Contextualisation

Introduction to the study of linguistic meaning.

The main goals of this course are the following:

  1. To acquire a general knowledge of lexical meaning, sentential meaning, and meaning in use.
  2. To understand the most basic aspects of the compositionality of meaning.
  3. To acquire a general perspective of linguistic communication and the interpretation of utterances.

Competences

    Classics
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive, and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical structures.
    English Studies
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    Catalan Language and Literature
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive, and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical structures.
    Spanish Language and Literature
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive, and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical structures.
    Catalan and Spanish
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and Catalan
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and Classics
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and Spanish
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.
    English and French
  • Analysing the lexical, phonetic, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic properties of natural languages.
  • Applying the various analytical tools to different types of linguistic data.
  • Develop critical thinking and reasoning and knowing how to communicate effectively both in your mother tongue and in other languages.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Understanding the biological, cognitive and cultural foundations of human language and the main contemporary grammatical models.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Accurately drawing up normative texts.
  2. Applying the results presented in specialised articles to the analysis of similar or related phenomena.
  3. Appropriately use the different available formal and technical resources.
  4. Appropriately using the different available formal and technical resources.
  5. Identify main ideas and express them with secondary and linguistic correctness
  6. Identify the main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
  7. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  8. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  9. Preparing an oral and written discourse in the corresponding language in a proper and organized way.
  10. Solve complex linguistic analysis at any level and with the appropriate tools.
  11. Solve problems autonomously.
  12. Solving complex problems of linguistic analysis in any level with the appropriate tools.
  13. Solving problems autonomously.
  14. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in its several fields of study.

Content

  1. The study of the lexicon and the study of meaning in the grammar of natural languages.
  2. Reference, truth and meaning.
  3. Predication and quantification.
  4. Modification and intensionality.
  5. Pragmatics of context.
  6. Communication and relevance.
  7. Cognitive semantics.

Methodology

Classes in which the main concepts are exposed will be combined with the resolution of exercises and oral presentations. 

The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject. In case of a change of teaching modality for health reasons, teachers will make readjustments in the schedule and methodologies.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Autonomous      
Readings 75 3 9, 4, 5, 8, 7, 6, 14

Assessment

Evaluation is based on the following activities:

(a)   Active participation in classes and tutorials. 10%.

(b)  Delivery of exercises and/or oral presentations, as will be established in due time. 40%.

(c)   Exam. 50%.

Students will pass with a minimum 5 score.

Access to reevaluation will be allowed to those students that have delivered at least two thirds of the activities, and have obtained between 3.5 and 4.9. The maximal score that can be obtained in this exam is 5.

Activity (a) cannot be recovered.

Dates for the delivery of activities and their revision will be announced in the CV.

In case that the above mentioned activities cannot be done at the UAB, their format will be adapted (keeping the weight) to the possibilities offered by the virtual tools recommended by the UAB. Exercises, activities and participation in class will be undertaken through forums, wikis and/or discussion of exercises by means of Teams. All students should have access to them.

Students will be qualified as “Not evaluable” when not more than 25% of the evaluable activities have been delivered.

In case of any irregularity committed by a student that might lead to a significant variation of the score of an act of evaluation, this will be qualified 0, independently of any additional disciplinary process that might be instructed. In case various irregularities are produced with respect to evaluable activities, the final score will be 0.

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Exercises 40% 75 3 2, 1, 9, 4, 3, 5, 8, 7, 6, 12, 10, 13, 11, 14

Bibliography

Aloni, Maria & Paul Dekker (2016), The Cambridge Handbook of Formal Semantics. Cambridge: CUP.

Altshuler, Daniel, Terence Parsons & Roger Schwarzschild (2019), A course in semantics. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

Blakemore, Diane. (1992), Understanding utterances. An introduction to pragmatics, Oxford: Blackwell.

Cann, Ronnie, Rurth Kempson & Eleni Gregoromichelaki (2009), Semantics. An introduction to meaning and language. Cambridge: CUP.

Chierchia, Gennaro (1997). Semantica. Bologna, Il Mulino.

Cuenca,  M. Josep & John Hilferthy (1999), Introducción a la lingüística cognitiva, Barcelona: Ariel.

Cruse, Alan. (2000, 20113), Meaning in language. An introduction to semantics and pragmatics, Oxford: OUP.

Davis, Steven & Brendan Gillon (eds.) (2004), Semantics. A reader. Oxford: OUP.

Davis, Steven (ed) (1991) Pragmatics: a Reader. Oxford: OUP.

Escandell, M.Victoria (1996, 2006), Introducción a la pragmática, Barcelona: Ariel.

Escandell, M.Victoria (2004): Fundamentos de Semántica Composicional. Barcelona: Ariel.

Espinal, M.Teresa (1988), Significat i interpretació, Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat.

Espinal, M.Teresa (coord.) (2002),Semàntica. Del significat del mot al significat del’oració, Barcelona: Ariel.

Espinal, M.Teresa (coord.) (2014). Semántica. Madrid: Akal.

García Murga, Fernando (2014), Semántica. Madrid: Síntesis.

Geeraerts, Dirk & Hubert Cuyckens (2010), The Oxford handbook of cognitive linguistics. Oxford: OUP.

Horn, Larry & Gregory Ward (eds.) (2004, 2006), The handbook of pragmatics. Oxford: Blackwell.

Kearns, Keith (2000, 20112), Semantics. Londres: Palgrave.

Lyons, John (1995), Linguistic semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Maienborn, Claudia, Klaus Von Heusinger & Paul Portner (2011), Semantics: an international handbook of natural language meaning. 3 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter.

de Miguel, Elena (ed.) (2009), Panorama de Lexicología. Barcelona: Ariel.

Moreno Cabrera, Juan Carlos (2003), Semántica y gramática, Madrid: Antonio Machado Libros.

Portner, Paul (2005), What is meaning? Fundamentals of formal semantics, Oxford: Blackwell.

Portner, Paul & Barbara Partee (eds.) (2002). Formal semantics: The essential readings. Oxford: Blackwell.

Saeed, John (1997, 20154), Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell. 

Turner, Ken (ed.) (1999), The semantics / pragmatics interface from different points of view, Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Yule, George (1996), Pragmatics. Oxford: OUP.

Zimmermann, Thomas Ede & Wolfgang Sternefeld (2013). Introduction to Semantics: An Essential Guide to the Composition of Meaning. Berlín: De Gruyter.