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.

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The standard assessments for this course are:  

■ Essay (2500 words) - 50% 

■ Portfolio of technical exercises - 50% 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

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.