• Oswald Steve

This proseminar is an introduction to the field of semantics, with a special focus on the semantics of the English language. The issue of linguistic meaning will be studied in its multiple dimensions in order to explain the different ways in which our language allows us to represent the surrounding world but also to communicate about it. The proseminar will accordingly present different approaches to meaning (structural semantics, compositional semantics, cognitive semantics and linguistics, lexical semantics, discourse semantics, etc.) and provide a panorama of traditional topics studied in semantic research.

At the end of the proseminar, students should:

• be able to describe in detail what semantic investigation consists in, and how it differs from the field of pragmatic investigation
• be familiar with different semantic theories accounting for the different dimensions of meaning
• be able to describe word meaning and the semantic relationships between words

Basic references:

• Griffiths, P. 2006. An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
• Hurford, J., Heasley, B., Smith, M. 2007. Semantics. A Coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Kreidler, C. 2002. Introducing English Semantics. London: Routledge.
• Saeed, J. 2003. Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell.

The extensive list of bibliographical references will be given on Moodle week after week.