IJIIA104 Italian Semantics and Lexicology

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Jan Pavlík (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Petr Dytrt, Ph.D.
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Romance Languages and Literatures – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 14:10–15:45 G11
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course deals with the basic notions and problems in semantics and lexicology illustrated mainly on Italian (but also French and English linguistic material. At the end of the course, the student should have a solid idea of the basic theories in semantics (see below, course contents), from the very first theories of tropes to structural semantics and he should be able to make use of this knowledge in the description of linguistic material in his diploma thesis.
Syllabus
  • The course studies the main problems of Italian semantics and lexicology. Using the traditional concepts of the founders of the discipline (Bréal, Darmesteter, Meillet, Wundt, de Saussure) completed by the works dating back to the second half of the 20th century (Hjelmslev, De Mauro, Ullmann, atd.), the course will try to give a definition of the basic terms and notions in semantics: semantics, semiotics, onomasiology, semasiology, sign, signifiant, signifié, meaning, concept, extralinguistic reality etc. The second part of the course, focused on the diachronical semantics and its application in lexicography, Italian linguistic material will used in order to illustrate various types of words (synonyms, antonyms, homonyms etc.); using, as a starting point, Aristotle end his theory of tropes, the course will analyze, in its third part, various problems of diachronical semantics, such as the theory and classification of the changes of meaning, their causes, process, context and consequences. Italian linguistic material will serve to illustrate metaphors, metonymies, synecdoches, popular etymology and contamination; the quantitative consequences of the changes of meaning; euphemism, dysphemism, taboo, etc. A special stress will be put on the importance of research in lexicology for the quality of the lexicographical production (characteristic features of main Italian vocabularies).
Literature
  • SAUSSURE, Ferdinand de. Kurs obecné lingvistiky. Edited by Tullio De Mauro, Translated by František Čermák. Vyd. 3., upr., V nakl. Acade. Praha: Academia, 2007, 487 s. ISBN 9788020015686. info
  • ULLMANN, Stephen. La semantica : introduzione alla scienza del significato. Bologna: Società editrice il Mulino, 1966. info
  • BRÉAL, Michel. Essai de sémantique. Science des significations. Paris, 1897. info
Teaching methods
Lecture: expanation, by the teacher, of basic notions and problems and their illustration on appropriate linguistic material
Assessment methods
Written test consisting usually of 7-8 quastions covering the basic concepts and theories of the discipline; minimum pass level is 60 %.
Language of instruction
Italian
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Určeno pro studenty navazujícího magisterského studia.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2013/IJIIA104