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This course offers an introduction to formal semantics and pragmatics. As a prerequisite, students are expected to have basic knowledge of syntax. We will see how we can derive the meaning of a sentence by combining (here is where syntax is necessary!) the meaning of its parts. Starting with basic set theory and logic we will practice in describing and understanding logical relations between linguistic expressions. After this, we will introduce a formal logical language based on lambda-calculus, a model for the exploration of propositional meaning. Topics that we will focus on involve: the semantics of quantifiers (e.g. every, some), the way pronouns like she, his get their reference, the meaning of verbal predicates and the notion of events. In addition, we will talk about pragmatics, the role of context and prosody in the interpretation of utterances.
The course will draw materials from various textbooks, including the following:
All necessary course material will be uploaded to the moodle website in due time. There will be three obligatory homework assignments and one take-home exam. The course grade will depend on your attendance, participation, homework submission, and final exam. The course is taught asynchronously. There will occasionally be voluntary Zoom meetings for questions and discussions. |
