Universität Konstanz
Fachbereich Sprachwissenschaft

Course Description

This course introduces the students to the foundations and essential concepts of Semantics (Formal Semantics). A procedure will be developed which derives the meaning of a complex linguistic unit (for example, a sentence or a phrase) from the meaning of the words and the syntactic structure that compose it. By examining different aspects of semantic composition, this course provides techniques and formal tools to investigate the empirical properties of natural language. Furthermore, if time permits, we will overview how children acquire some aspects of this semantic procedure.

Termin und Raum: Vorlesung Dienstag 10-12 Uhr in G300; Tutorium Donnerstag 13-14 Uhr in G300.

Sprache: Englisch

• Tutorium is mandatory.

Semester plan: Syllabus

Slides & Handouts

Note: For readings available in the electronic Semesterapparat, click here.

21.10.2008	The empirical domain of meaning (partial slides). Readings for next week: Chierchia and McConnell-Ginet chapter 1, especially pp. 17-52. Available in the electronic Semesterapparat. Start reading Partee et al. ch 1 and 2. Available in the electronic Semesterapparat.
28.10.2008	The empirical domain of meaning (complete slides). The main ingredients. Readings for next week: First, read Partee et al ch 6 on Propositional Logic. Available in the electronic Semesterapparat. Then, continue reading Partee et al. ch 1 and 2 on Set Theory. Available in the electronic Semesterapparat.
4.11.2008	Propositional Logic. Readings for next week: Noveck's paper and optionally Chierchia et al.'s paper, both on the acquisition of implicatures and both available in the electronic Semesterapparat.
11.11.2008	Set Theory. Conversational implicatures in children. Readings for next week: Finish reading Noveck and optionally Chierchia et al. (both in electronic Semesterapparat). Read chapter 3 from the Heim and Kratzer textbook.
18.11.2008	Take Home I, due on Nov 25, 2008, by 10am. Compositionality in NatLg. Names and predicates. This handout correponds to chapter 3 from the Heim and Kratzer textbook.
25.11.2008	We finished the handout: Compositionality in NatLg. Names and predicates.
2.12.2008	More on names and predicates. Exercise on the Predicate Modification Rule.
9.12.2008	Syntax. Ambiguities from syntactic attachment.
16.12.2008	Computing ambiguities from syntactic attachment. Take Home II, due on Jan 13, 2009, by 10:15am.
13.01.2009	Predicate Logic. Lexical meanings: The problem of induction.
20.01.2009	We continue with Predicate Logic and with the problem of induction for lexical meanings. Quantifiers: Their denotation.
27.01.2009	Quantification: quantifiers and the rest of the sentence.
3.02.2009	Take Home III .
10.02.2009	KLAUSUR.