BA Linguistics

The course covers central topics in Cognitive Linguistics (CL), a cover term for a group of approaches to the study of language which constitute an alternative to formal and structural approaches. CL assumes that language is not a separate and autonomous cognitive faculty, but part of general cognition; that linguistic meaning is dynamic and grounded in cultural and physical experience and thus features an inescapable degree of subjectivity; and that grammar is meaningful and structured by users’ conceptualizations, as opposed to being essentially arbitrary. Centrally, the framework is usage-based, meaning that it makes no principled distinction between competence and performance, but assumes that knowledge of language emerges from language use.  

Subtopics covered include: Categorization, Frames and domains, Construal, Metaphor and Metonymy, Polysemy, Iconicity, Constructions, and Meaning Change. 
 

LELA10301: English Word and Sentence Structure

The following are recommended, but not required: 

LELA10332: The Study of Meaning 

LELA10201: Language, Mind and Brain

LELA20292: Pragmatics: Meaning, Context and Interaction

The aim of the module is to introduce students to a set of approaches which assume that language is shaped by the conceptualization of human experience and by the need to communicate such conceptualizations to others. We will study central aspects of the cognitivist approach to language and look at how the aims, assumptions, and commitments of this school of thought differ from competing approaches, and at the type of arguments that are brought to bear in the debate.

Upon successful completion of this module, students will:

• Understand central concepts in Cognitive Linguistics and be able to apply them to data from a variety of languages, prominently including English.
• Understand how and why cognitive approaches to language differ from formal and structural approaches.
• Have a deeper understanding of the intellectual history of the field of linguistics.

Abstract thinking skills

Reasoning and argumentation skills

Qualitative data analysis skills

Problem solving skills

Communication skills

Problem solving skills

Argumentation skills

Independent study skills

Time-management skills

Midterm MCQ exam                                   25%

Exam                                                                      75%

Set text:

• Evans, Vyvyan & Melanie Green. 2006. Cognitive Linguistics: an Introduction. London: Routledge.

Additional recommended texts:

• Croft, William & D. Alan Cruse. 2004. Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Geeraerts, Dirk & Hubert Cuyckens, eds. 2010. The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Taylor, John R. 2004³. Linguistic Categorization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Ungerer, Friedrich & Hans-Jörg Schmid. 2006². An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics. London: Routledge.