Universität Wien
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180208 SE The Nature of Language (2022W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE
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. 30 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 11.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 18.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 25.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 08.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 15.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 22.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 29.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 06.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 13.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 10.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 17.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 24.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228
  • Tuesday 31.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2i NIG 2.Stock C0228

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

How should we think of the linguistic meaning of words, sentences, and other expressions in relation to their use? Is language conventional or rule-governed and should we focus on public languages like English or German? Or should we instead prioritize individual speakers’ dispositions and idiolects or even one-off intentions? How to think about misuses, malapropisms, linguistic innovation, and our practices of correcting each other? In this course we will study these questions by reading and discussing classical and contemporary texts by Austin, Davidson, Dummett, Grice, Lewis and others. As a result the students will get a systematic overview of the space of possible answers as well as the ability to evaluate their costs and benefits.

Assessment and permitted materials

First: midterm essay, deadline: 6.12, 40%
Second: final essay, deadline: TBD, 60%

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Minimum requirements: regular attendance, completion of all assessments

Assessment criteria: the overall grade will be a weighted average of the two partial grades: mid-term paper (40%), final essay (60%).

Examination topics

The first essay will have to be on a topic derived from the first part of the course (W1-W8), the second can be either a substantial development of the first or an entirely new essay on a topic from the second part. I will suggest possible topics as we go along.

Reading list

We will read a host of classic and contemporary texts like:

Austin, from How To Do Things With Words
Bach "Conversational Impliciture"
Cameron, from Verbal Hygiene
Davidson "Convention and Communication"
Davidson "A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs"
Davis, from Meaning, Expression, and Thought
Dummett "Mood, Force, and Convention"
Grice "Meaning"
Grice "Logic and Conversation"
Kaplan "Demonstratives"
Kaplan "The Meaning of Ouch and Oops"
Lewis "Languages and Language"
Loar, from Mind and Meaning
Reimer "What Malapropisms Mean"
Searle, from Speech Acts

For more info, see the syllabus.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Th 27.04.2023 13:27