Universität Wien
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122225 SE Linguistics Seminar 2 (historical & descriptive linguistics) (2012S)

Semantic Change

10.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Continuous assessment of course work

Oral presentations will be given at a mini-conference taking place from Fri 11-05-2012, 14.00 to Sat 12-05-2012, 15:00). Full participation in the conference is mandatory, so please bear this in mind when registering for the course.
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 18 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 19.03. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 26.03. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 16.04. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 23.04. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 30.04. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 07.05. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Friday 11.05. 14:00 - 19:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Saturday 12.05. 09:00 - 16:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
  • Monday 14.05. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 21.05. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 04.06. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 11.06. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 18.06. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09
  • Monday 25.06. 15:00 - 17:00 Raum 2 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-EG-09

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this course we attempt to describe and explain changes in the meanings of English words such as to cope with, which originally meant ‘to fight with’ or to worry, which originally meant ‘to strangle’. We collect evidence from the Oxford English Dictionary Online and from diachronic corpora such as the Corpus of Historical American English, and try to account for it in terms of recent theories of semantic change. We investigate the interplay between pragmatic mechanisms of meaning construction and negotiation and the transmission of conventionalised lexical meanings, identify the mechanisms exploited for semantic innovation and attempt to detect any general principles by which semantic change may be driven.

Assessment and permitted materials

Classroom participation, reports on project design and development (conceptual, bibliographical and methodological), oral presentation at a seminar conference, written seminar paper.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

To develop expertise in (a) the description of word meaning and its situational and historical variability, (b) the systematic treatment of dictionary and corpus data, and (c) the application of theoretical concepts in the explanation of empirically attested linguistic phenomena.

Examination topics

Classroom instruction, guided work on research projects, and guided practice in the analysis and interpretation of dictionary and corpus data.

Oral presentations will be given at a mini-conference taking place from Fri 11-05-2012, 14.00 to Sat 12-05-2012, 15:00). Full participation in the conference is mandatory, so please bear this in mind when registering for the course.

Reading list

To be announced. For introductory purposes please consult

Traugott, Elizabeth Closs and Richard B. Dasher. 2002. Regularity in Semantic Change. Cambridge: University Press.

Association in the course directory

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, ME 812;
Code/Modul: Diplom 222, 226/228, 236/238, 721-723, 821, UF 4.2.3-222, M04
Lehrinhalt: 12-0168

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33