AJ22068 Semantics: Sentence Semantics

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2010
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Naděžda Kudrnáčová, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Tue 15:00–16:35 G31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 0/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 13 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Objectives of the course: The course provides students with a solid understanding of key concepts in the semantics of the sentence. The course is designed for advanced students. Students successfully completing the course will be able to analyze the semantic structure of the sentence. They will be able to examine the relation between the level of cognitive content and the level of linguistic meaning and to differentiate between the "static" semantic structure and the "dynamic" semantic structure. They will be able to analyze verbs with respect to thematic role grids and to categorize individual thematic roles and examine their relation to the grammatical structure of the sentence.
Syllabus
  • Description of the course: This seminar provides a detailed discussion of some of the basic problems connected with the analysis of the semantic structure of the sentence. In view of the interrelation between semantics and syntax, attention will also be paid to the syntactic structure of the sentence. The topics covered in the course are as follows: - semantics versus pragmatics
  • - the level of cognitive content versus the level of linguistic meaning
  • - semantico-syntactic interface: the relations between grammatical sentence patterns and semantic sentence patterns
  • - the hierarchical structure of the semantics of the sentence
  • - semantic roles as generalizations of lexical meanings at a higher level of abstraction
  • - anthropocentrism of syntax
  • - the "static" semantic structure of the sentence versus the "dynamic" semantic structure of the sentence
  • - classifying situations
  • - modality and evidentiality
  • - classifying participants
  • - grammatical relations and thematic roles
  • - the motivation for identifying thematic roles
  • - verbs and thematic role grids
Literature
  • Saeed, John I.: Semantics (Blackwell 1997)
  • LYONS, John. Linguistic semantics : an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995, xvi, 376. ISBN 0521438772. info
Teaching methods
One 1.5 hour seminar with students' participation (students will each prepare a 15-20 minute presentation on a selected topic).
Assessment methods
Seminar attendance is compulsory. In order to be able to sit the exam (or submit a research paper), the student cannot miss more than 2 seminars without a medical certificate. Assessment: students can choose between a written test and a research paper (examining the issues dealt with in the seminars). The breakdown of the marking is as follows: - Oral presentation: 20% - Research paper (or a written test): 80%
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught each semester.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 1999, Spring 2000, Spring 2001, Autumn 2002, Autumn 2003, Autumn 2004, Autumn 2005, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2010, recent)
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