• Maillat Didier

• Maillat Didier

Meaning is arguably the most elusive aspect of language. While many linguistic processes are directly observable, meaning isn't. In this seminar, students will familiarise themselves with the semantic and pragmatic methodologies and concepts used in the linguistic analysis of meaning production and comprehension. How is meaning arrived at? How is it elaborated?

Specifically, we will see how experimental approaches can help us capture these ‘invisible’ phenomena. We will observe how experimental designs can be used to test the processes involved in our minds when we construct meaning. Using a practical approach, students will discover and apply the techniques used to investigate how the human mind interprets sentences. Different semantic and pragmatic components of meaning will serve as a basis for our investigations: how do we resolve ambiguities? How do we make sense of metaphors and figurative meaning? How do we know what the other person is referring to? How do we calculate implicit meaning, among others. In this process, students will be invited to make suggestions regarding the type of meaning they wish to investigate.

• methodological and practical approach to carrying empirical and experimental research with linguistic data in English
• theoretical and methodological tools used to analyse semantic and pragmatic meaning
• knowledge of the current relevant issues in the field
• critical evaluation of scientific paper

A bibliography and a list of assigned readings will be made available in the first week of the semester.