Universität Wien
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180149 VO+UE Introduction to linguistics from a cognitive perspective (2020W)

3.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work
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. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Due to the uncertainty owing to CoViD-19, this course will be held online. For each lecture, there will be a link to a BigBlueButton session accessible via Moodle. Although the lectures will be recorded, it is important to be present online when the lecture takes place, since this lecture is planned as an interactive course. The requirements (summaries, presentation, seminar paper) are not affected by this.

  • Wednesday 07.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 14.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 21.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 28.10. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 04.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 11.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 18.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 25.11. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 02.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 09.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 16.12. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 13.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 20.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital
  • Wednesday 27.01. 11:30 - 13:00 Digital

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Language may be regarded as one of the most prominent cognitive capacities of the human race. It is ubiquitous, and every human being speaks at least one language and knows about a few others. Disputes about properties of one or another language or dialect are quite popular. But what do we really know about this cognitive capacity. In order to discuss this, a few concepts and topics of modern linguistics have to be presented and understood. In the first phase of the course we will try to gain clarity about certain quite important questions: what is the code language uses, and how is it transmitted (phonology and phonetics)? What are the units of language and how are they utilized to form a rather complex system (morphology, syntax)? What role plays structure for language (syntax, semantics)? How does meaning come about (semantics, acquisition)? Do we structure meanings (semantics, information structure)? In the following, we will address topics that directly relate to themes most relevant to the study of cognition in a broader sense.

Assessment and permitted materials

- active participation in discussions and 3 summaries of particular lectures
- development of a topic in linguistics for final paper (recommendations on literature will be given): short presentation, handout
- final paper (squib)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Regular participation in at least 80% of lectures is obligatory.
The following deliverables are requirements for final grading:
- 3 brief summaries on topics presented in the lecture (1-2 pages) [30%]
- 1 short presentation (10 min) on the chosen resarch topic [10%]
- 1 handout (approx. 1 page) containing main research questions and theses, as well as a preliminary bibliography [10%]
- final paper [50%] The final paper should be a squib on a rather specific topic or linguistic problem (approx. 10 pages, linespacing 1.5, font size 12 pt).

For each of these tasks, points are given, summing up to 100 points. The final grade will be calculated according to the following scheme:
90-100 -> 1 | 77-89 -> 2 | 64-76 -> 3 | 51-63 -> 4 | 0-50 -> 5

Examination topics

Reading list

No specific literature recommendations. Materials and selected papers will be made available on the Moodle platform.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 02.10.2023 00:17