SOW-DGCN54
Semantics, Pragmatics & Cognition
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleSOW-DGCN54
Credits (ECTS)6
CategoryMA (Master)
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Social Sciences; Cognitive Neuroscience;
Lecturer(s)
PreviousNext 2
Lecturer
dr. J.A.M. Holler
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. N.G. Levshina
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
prof. dr. H.A. Ozyurek
Other course modules lecturer
Coordinator
prof. dr. H.A. Ozyurek
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
prof. dr. H.A. Ozyurek
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2021
Period
SEM1  (06/09/2021 to 28/01/2022)
Starting block
SEM1
Course mode
full-time
Remark
Please note: if you do not yet have a master's registration, you are not yet registered for the tests for this course.
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesNo
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
The topic of this course is how meaning is expressed in language and how it is flexibly communicated and grounded in communication and interaction, including the underlying cognitive principles. This course will also focus on crosslinguistic and crosscultural differences in this domain as well as insights from behaviour and (neuro) cognition that might constrain/explain how semantics and pragmatics are expressed in languages and vice-versa.

We will also discuss how the general pragmatic mechanisms grounded in cognition and communication shape language structure and use at all levels (phonology, morphosyntax and lexicon).Some well-established theories will be presented, as well as several controversies. The students will be asked to argue about these issues  in a debate format during the course and later write about them.

By the end of this course the students will learn about a multitude of diverse semantic and pragmatic phenomena in different human languages, and will be able to interpret them from a perspective of linguistics as well as (neuro) cognitive science(s). 
 
Content
Course will be given in 4  related submodules . 

Module 1: Semantics and pragmatics:Crosslinguistic variation and  cognition
Asli Ozyurek

Synopsis: There are considerable differences in the way languages express and package meaning as well as how they are adjusted to contextual uses (e.g., demonstratives pronouns, discourse cohesion). What does linguistic variation across languages in semantics and pragmatics tell us about why languages are structured as they are and relations between language and (interactive) cognition? 

Module 2: Communicative efficiency and language structure
Natalia Levshina

Synopsis This module will focus on communicative efficiency as a universal pragmatic principle, which manifests itself at different levels of language structure and use, namely, in phonology, morphosyntax and lexicon. We will consider cross-linguistic corpus-based and experimental evidence for several language universals, such as the law of abbreviation, dependency length minimization, and Greenbergian word order correlations, and discuss if and to what extent they can be explained by the cognitive and communicative processes of the speaker/signer and the addressee.

Module 3: The social basis of human language
Judith Holler
Synopsis: Human language is fundamentally grounded in social interaction, including its evolution, acquisition and day-to-day use. This module focuses on core social and pragmatic principles that underpin, shape and define human linguistic behavior and cognition when it occurs in social context.

Module 4 : The sensorimotor grounding of meaning in  language
Laura Speed
Synopsis : How do we understand meaning in language? In this module we assess embodied theories of language that assign a critical role to the sensory and motor systems in meaning.

 
Required materials
Articles
They are uploaded on Brightspace

Instructional modes
Lecture
Attendance MandatoryYes

Tests
Paper
Test weight60
Test typePaper
OpportunitiesBlock SEM1, Block SEM2

Debate
Test weight20
Test typePresentation
OpportunitiesBlock SEM1, Block SEM2

Questions
Test weight20
Test typeAssignment
OpportunitiesBlock SEM1