Foundations of Meaning - LAN00069I

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  • Department: Language and Linguistic Science
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2025-26
    • See module specification for other years: 2024-25

Module summary

How do we manage to understand each other - most of the time very effortlessly - in communication? What is meaning, and where does it come from? This module aims to equip students with the basic conceptual tools of semantics, the study of literal meaning, and pragmatics, the study of meaning in context. Students will learn how to analyse the meanings of linguistic units at the word, phrase and sentence level, as well as how to test them using basic linguistic tests.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2025-26

Module aims

  • To introduce students to foundational concepts in the study of meaning

  • To foster students’ awareness of different levels of meaning (semantic and pragmatic) and the interactions between them

  • To develop students’ critical reading skills of academic literature

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module students should be able to:

  • understand the roles of semantics and pragmatics in the construction of meaning

  • understand some key milestones in the development of semantic and pragmatic theory

  • apply linguistic tests for different inferences and other aspects of meaning

Module content

This module will cover a variety in foundational topics in semantics and pragmatics, including truth theory, reference, quantification, Gricean Pragmatics, and more.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Open Exam (5 days) 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Open Exam (5 days) 100

Module feedback

Ongoing formative feedback will be given automatically via the VLE. For the formative essay you will receive individual written feedback.

For the summative assessment you will receive individual written feedback within the university mandated time limit.

Indicative reading

  • Birner, B. J. (2023). Meaning: semantics, pragmatics, cognition. Taylor & Francis

  • Elbourne, P. (2011). Meaning: a slim guide to semantics. Oxford University Press, USA

  • Portner, P. (2005). What is meaning?: Fundamentals of formal semantics. Wiley-Blackwell