Course content

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.

Learning outcome

The objective is that the students get a general idea of the system of concepts and basic methods within semantic theories.

Learning methods and activities

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.

Compulsory assignments

• 3 approved exercises

Recommended previous knowledge

EXFAC0003 and LING1105.