The Grammar of Words: Below, at, and Above Zero

Course goals

The course aims to give the student insight in a number of topics that will be analyzed from the perspective of different linguistic disciplines: grammar (lexical semantics, morphology, pragmatics), psycholinguistics, language acquisition, computational linguistics, and typology.

Content

“What is the lexicon?”, What is a “word?”, “How are words and their meanings represented in the brain or mental lexicon?”, “How is lexical knowledge acquired?”, and “What is the relation between culture and lexicon?” We will study questions like these in the course, applying different empirical methods and different analytical tools, and taking a comparative perspective where possible.
Specific topics of this course include prototype theory and other theories of word meaning, the adaptation of meaning in communication, linguistic relativity and lexical universals.

Additional information

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

This course is the second course of the specialisation 'Language and cognition'.

Early Exit option for international exchange students (5 ECTS)
Exchange students who are required to return to their home university before January, are allowed to choose an Early Exit option for this course. The Early Exit option means that students can finish the course before Christmas break, receiving 5 ECTS for the course. Students must make arrangements with the course coordinator at the start of the course.