Semantics

The course deals with the "meaning" of verbal messages, both the meaning of words (lexical meaning) as well as meaning created by morphological and syntactic combinations. The study of Semantics has always been an integral part of Linguistics but it is only during the last hundred years that it has become a discipline in its own right. The course has two points of departure: a cognitive one and another based on formal logic. The course will analyze both methods and will provide ways of combining them. The linguistic material analyzed will mostly be Norwegian and English, but examples will be given of how to use the methods on languages that are structured differently.

The content and focus can vary somewhat according to the composition of the class.

After having taken this topic, the students should

• Know of both conceptual and formal approaches to semantics

• Have practical skills in semantic analysis

• Have a certain understanding of the interface between semantics and its neighboring linguistic disciplines, and its relationship to topics within philosophy of language

Lectures and group instructions. More on assessment: Obligatory exercises must be approved before the student may sit the written exam. The size of the exercises must be between 2-4 A4-pages each, with the use of standard Linguistic formats. In special cases, upon student petition to the Department, a take-home exam may be allowed.