17370

SoSe 21: S-Semantics and Pragmatics II: Reference

Ferdinand von Mengden

Comments

That linguistic expressions (words, utterances) have a meaning seems to be a very natural thing to assume. How else would it be possible to communicate successfully by means of linguistic expressions? But what exactly is meaning? What does it mean for an expression to ‘have’ a meaning? And how do linguistic expressions actually acquire their meaning?

We can argue that linguistic expressions must have some meaning prior to us speakers using them – otherwise, how could we use them reasonably if we didn’t know what a word can be used for? But this approach doesn’t explain where a word meaning comes from in the first place. We could also argue that we create the meaning of an expression the moment we use it. But how exactly does this work and how do we know which expressions we can or cannot use in a given situation?

The main aim of this seminar will be to resolve this paradox. A crucial factor in determining the meaning of an expression will be the clues which the context provides in each specific communication. In order to study the interaction between conceptual notions and the contribution of context and of speakers’ intentions, ‘semantics’ and ‘pragmatics’ – according to our terminological conventions two separate, albeit related fields in linguistics – will therefore be presented as one large domain of linguistic studies that cannot reasonably be kept apart.

Schein requirements are a term paper, an oral presentation in class and regular and active participation. Please register in Blackboard for the class at your earliest convenience. All details on the organization of the class, the requirements, the procedures and the access links to the individual sessions will be communicated there.