This course engages with the core of language - the communication of meaning. It examines theories of word and sentence meaning alongside more recent approaches to meaning taken by cognitive semantics. In so doing, it explores what the analysis of meaning reveals about culture, society and the human mind.

1 x 2hr session per week (comprising 1x1hr lecture; 1x1hr seminar) over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the Honours options in English Language and Linguistics and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

None

None

Essay (2500 words) - 50%

Portfolio of technical exercises - 50%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ provide an overview of how the study of meaning has developed within linguistics;

■ develop an enhanced awareness of the methodological and theoretical problems involved in studying meaning;

■ develop skills in the linguistic analysis of meaning.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ analyse meaning critically in a range of ways;

■ evaluate a range of linguistic perspectives on meaning;

■ identify strategies for conveying and analysing meaning in their own language use and that of others.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.