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Pragmatics: Meaning and Reasoning in Conversation (2025/2026: Semester 2 – Spring)
Cursusdoel
After completing this course students are able to:
1. describe theoretical principles relevant to semantics & pragmatics as well as the limitations of existing theories
2. identify current explanations of a set of pragmatic phenomena
3. understand the role of pragmatic mechanisms in real-life discourse situations, from dialogues to mass communication
4. deliver oral presentations and written work designing individual academic research on a topic related to pragmatics
| Description of assignment | Which learning goals does this assess? |
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1-3 1-3 1-3 1-4 1-4 |
Vakinhoudelijk
Why, after a concert, complimenting the leading violinist on their outfit might come across as an insult? And why is it odd to state that one has 'two or three children'?
Pragmatics helps us pinpoint, and explain away, the reasons for why the discourses above sound weird, along with the very idea of ‘oddness’ and whether we want to avoid it altogether. For example, according to Salman Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh, in Bombay one answers ‘Old. From the Old Time’ to the question about how old their house is. Is this a good answer or a bad one? This depends on the context, one of the key notions explored in this class.
Pragmatics is an interdisciplinary field that has its roots in philosophy and is often described as the study of meaning in the context of real-life interactions. Proficient speakers of a language have a good grasp of what individual words mean and how to combine them together to form sentences, however, in order to actually understand what is meant by what is said and to achieve our goals, we need to have a grip on the larger context of conversation and to be able to deduce the communicative intentions of our interlocutors. By combining the logical approach to language adopted within modern linguistics and the rational approach to human behavior adopted within social sciences, pragmatics studies the underpinnings of human communication as a form of rational behavior.
The course starts with a survey of the levels of meaning (entailed vs. implied, foregrounded vs. backgrounded) and context-sensitive expressions (what does ‘I’ refer to), moves on to the larger issues related to the structure of discourse (such as the nature of speech acts, e.g., what makes a promise a promise) and the concept of the common ground (how do I know that you know what I know), and concludes by introducing different models of information exchange. Overall, it gives the students an overview of what modern pragmatics is about and gives them launchpads for their own research. Additionally, the course demonstrates the role of pragmatic mechanisms in such societally-relevant phenomena as slurs and whataboutism, by highlighting linguistic properties that make them harmful and by discussing ways to possibly counteract them.
Format
The class consists of a mix of sessions of different types. In the first half of the class, there will be many lectures by the instructor, interspersed with student presentations of research papers relevant to the class and selected by the instructor. In the second half of the class, several sessions will be devoted to research meetings designed to support the students in working on their individual research projects. The students present their results at a mini-conference and submit a written paper at the end of the class.
Pragmatics helps us pinpoint, and explain away, the reasons for why the discourses above sound weird, along with the very idea of ‘oddness’ and whether we want to avoid it altogether. For example, according to Salman Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh, in Bombay one answers ‘Old. From the Old Time’ to the question about how old their house is. Is this a good answer or a bad one? This depends on the context, one of the key notions explored in this class.
Pragmatics is an interdisciplinary field that has its roots in philosophy and is often described as the study of meaning in the context of real-life interactions. Proficient speakers of a language have a good grasp of what individual words mean and how to combine them together to form sentences, however, in order to actually understand what is meant by what is said and to achieve our goals, we need to have a grip on the larger context of conversation and to be able to deduce the communicative intentions of our interlocutors. By combining the logical approach to language adopted within modern linguistics and the rational approach to human behavior adopted within social sciences, pragmatics studies the underpinnings of human communication as a form of rational behavior.
The course starts with a survey of the levels of meaning (entailed vs. implied, foregrounded vs. backgrounded) and context-sensitive expressions (what does ‘I’ refer to), moves on to the larger issues related to the structure of discourse (such as the nature of speech acts, e.g., what makes a promise a promise) and the concept of the common ground (how do I know that you know what I know), and concludes by introducing different models of information exchange. Overall, it gives the students an overview of what modern pragmatics is about and gives them launchpads for their own research. Additionally, the course demonstrates the role of pragmatic mechanisms in such societally-relevant phenomena as slurs and whataboutism, by highlighting linguistic properties that make them harmful and by discussing ways to possibly counteract them.
Format
The class consists of a mix of sessions of different types. In the first half of the class, there will be many lectures by the instructor, interspersed with student presentations of research papers relevant to the class and selected by the instructor. In the second half of the class, several sessions will be devoted to research meetings designed to support the students in working on their individual research projects. The students present their results at a mini-conference and submit a written paper at the end of the class.
Werkvormen
UCU hum 3 course
Toetsing
Participation
Verplicht | Weging 10% | ECTS 0,75
Written assignments
Verplicht | Weging 40% | ECTS 3
Research paper
Verplicht | Weging 20% | ECTS 1,5
Project presentation
Verplicht | Weging 10% | ECTS 0,75
*midterm FEEDBACK*
Niet verplicht
Written exam
Verplicht | Weging 20% | ECTS 1,5
Ingangseisen en voorkennis
Ingangseisen
Er moet voldaan zijn aan minimaal één van de cursussen:
- [UCACCMET26] Formal logic for open minds
- [UCHUMLIN21] Syntax and semantics: Language structure and interpretation
- [UCHUMLIN22] Psycholinguistics: Language and Cognition
- [UCHUMLIN31] Language Acquisition: Language Learning and Linguistic Theory
- [UCHUMLIN32] Multilingualism: Individual and societal perspectives on language contact
- [UCHUMPHI21] Metaphysics & Epistemology: from Parmenides to Levinas
- [UCHUMPHI23] Twentieth Century Theoretical Philosophy
- [UCINTLIN33] Speech Production and Perception
Voorkennis
Course admission is possible for students who have completed any level-2 ANT/LAW/POL/SOC course, in combination with UCHUMLIN11 or UCACCMET13.
Voertalen
- Engels
Competenties
-
Interdisciplinariteit
-
Onderzoeksvaardigheden
-
Presenteren
Cursusmomenten
Gerelateerde studies
Tentamens
Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus
Verplicht materiaal
-
BOEKBirner, B.J. Introduction to Pragmatics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1-405-17583-8. Available as e-book or pdf as well.
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BOEKKroeger, P. 2018. Analyzing Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Language Science Press. Available through open access
Aanbevolen materiaal
Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend
Opmerkingen
Alternates with UCHUMLIN32
Coördinator
| dr. N. Korotkova | n.korotkova@uu.nl |
Docenten
| dr. N. Korotkova | n.korotkova@uu.nl |
Inschrijving
Let op: deze cursus is niet toegankelijk voor studenten van andere faculteiten, bijvakkers mogen zich dus niet inschrijven.
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