Master 2021/2022

The Theory of Grammar

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Elective course (Linguistic Theory and Language Description)

Area of studies: Fundamental and Applied Linguistics

Delivered by: School of Linguistics

Where: Faculty of Humanities

When: 2 year, 2, 3 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Timur Maisak

Master’s programme: Linguistic Theory and Language Description

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 32

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course provides an introduction to the theory of grammar from the formal linguistics perspective with a focus on semantics. The topics of the course include the philosophical and conceptual underpinnings of formal theorizing about semantics and of semantics as part of grammar, truth conditions and compositionality, basics of propositional and predicate logics and typed lambda calculus for modelling natural language meaning composition, as well as an overview of particular topics in natural language semantics and the formal approach to them: predicate-argument composition, nominal modifiers and their types (intersective, subsective, non-intersective and non-subsective), possessive constructions, quantifiers, presupposition, anaphora, dynamic semantics. Prerequisites: attended the course "semantics" or the course "logic" (bachelor's degree).

Learning Objectives

• To introduce the students to the methods and practicalities of research in formal semantics.
• To develop and practice critical analytical skills in approaching semantic data from a formal semantic viewpoint.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students are able to formulate the strong and weak points of Grammaticalization theory.
• Students are able to identify grammaticalization phenomena and analyse them with the help of parameters established in grammaticalization research.
• Students are able to reproduce grammaticalization "profiles" of 3-5 major language families.
• Students are good at critical academic reading.

Course Contents

• The history of grammaticalization research
• The definition of grammaticalization
• Grammaticalization sources
• Grammaticalization and language contact
• Grammaticalization theory
• Parameters of grammaticalization
• Grammaticalization paths in various domains
• Grammaticalization profiles of language families

Assessment Elements

• intermediate quiz
• presentation
  Presentation based on a paper selected from the course reading
• final quiz

Interim Assessment

• 2021/2022 3rd module
  0.2 * presentation + 0.5 * final quiz + 0.3 * intermediate quiz

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Heine, B., & Kuteva, T. (2002). World Lexicon of Grammaticalization. Cambridge University Press.
• Lehmann, C. (2018). Thoughts on grammaticalization. https://doi.org/10.17169/refubium-22314
• The Oxford handbook of grammaticalization, , 2011

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Hopper, P. J., & Giacalone Ramat, A. (1998). The Limits of Grammaticalization. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
• Muriel Norde. (2009). Degrammaticalization. OUP Oxford.
• New reflections on grammaticalization, , 2002
• Stathi, K., Gehweiler, E., & König, E. (2010). Grammaticalization : Current Views and Issues. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Co. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=340316
• Trousdale, G., & Traugott, E. C. (2010). Gradience, Gradualness and Grammaticalization. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Co. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=317187

Authors

• MAYSAK TIMUR ANATOLEVICH