LING 2052 - Semantics: The Study of Meaning

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2021

Semantics is the study of meaning. It includes lexical semantics, the study of the meaning of words, the meaning of grammatical morphemes, sentence semantics and pragmatics (the study of meaning in context). The course teaches a range of approaches to the study of semantics, including dictionary definitions, prototype theory, componential analysis and semantic primitives. There is a strong focus on semantic change and cross-cultural semantics in this course.

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Course Details

Course Code	LING 2052
Course	Semantics: The Study of Meaning
Coordinating Unit	Linguistics
Term	Semester 2
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 12 units of Level I undergraduate study including LING 1101
Assessment	Practical 1 - 10%, Practical 2 - 10%, Tutorial Presentation 20%, Essay (1500 words) 30%, Exam (1.5 hours) 30%.

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Ian Green

Course Coordinator (2021): Dr Ian Green | ian.green@adelaide.edu.au. | 0438 756 936

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Guest Lecturer: Professor Ghil'ad Zuckermann,

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from .

Lectures: livestreamed Monday 9-11am, recordings available shortly after the lecture

Tutorials: face-to-face Tuesday 11am-12pm Lower Napier LG28 | online Wednesday 2-3pm

Course Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate a knowledge of a range of approaches to analysing lexical semantics.
Demonstrate an understanding of sense relations between words.
Perform a componential analysis.
Explain the relationships between semantics and grammar
Demonstrate an understanding of sentence semantics.
Explain the principles of semantic change.
Write a coherent and logically argued essay in response to a question posed drawing on a range of perspectives and source material

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,4,5,6
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,3,4,5,6
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	7
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	7
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	2,4,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	2.4.7

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Textbook: Saeed, John I. (2016). Semantics (4th ed.) Chichester, England: Wiley Blackwell
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

Lectures and analytical/problem-solving tutorials drawing on, and extending, material covered in lectures and/or in the course text-book or in other material referenced in the course.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

2 X 1-hour lectures per week 24 hrs per semester
1 X 1-hour tutorial per week X10 weeks. 10 hours per semester

4 hours reading per week 48 hours per semester
3 hours semantics analysis/problem solving per week 36 hours per semester
3 hours assignment preparation per week 36 hours per semester
2 hours revision 2 hours per semester

TOTAL 156 hours per semester

Learning Activities Summary

Week 1
Language, concepts, meaning: is there a dictionary in your head?

Week 2
Word meaning

Week 3
Sense vs Reference; Semantics vs Pragmatics (Professor Ghil‘ad Zuckermann)

Week 4
Phono-Semantic Matching(Professor Ghil‘ad Zuckermann)

Week 5
Logic & Truth

Week 6
Types of Situations

Week 7
Types of Participants

Week 8
Pragmatics

Week 9
Speech Acts

Week 10
Meaning Components

Week 11
Cognitive Semantics

Week 12
Semantic variation and change

Small Group Discovery Experience

Tutorial sessions will involve small group work of 3 to 5 students on problem solving & semantic analysis exercises.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Practical exercise in semantic analysis #1, due end of Week 3, 10% weighting.

Practical exercise in semantic analysis #2, due end of Week 6, 10% weighting.

Tutorial Presentation, due as negotiated sometime in Weeks 7-10, 20% weighting

1500–2000 word essay, due end of week 9, 30% weighting

End of semester exam, due beginning of week 14, 30% weighting

Assessment Detail

Practicals:students undertake a short semantic analysis of sets of language data -10% weighting per practical.

1000 word (or equivalent) tutorial presentation: studentsgive an in-tutorial live or prerecorded presentation on a negotiated topic in semantic theory and analysis -20% weighting.

1500 word essay:students will be required to write a 1500 word research essay on a semantics topic, drawing on library research as well as on semantic analysis of their own data -30% weighting.

Exam: an online exam to be undertaken at the end of semester -30% weighting.

Assessment for Semantics at Level III will involve problems of a higher level of difficulty thanproblems set for Semantics at Level II. At Level III a greater level of abstraction will be required. Separate exam papers will be set differing in the level of conceptual difficulty.

Tutorial topics need to relate to the topic covered that week. Specific topics need to be negotiated with the Course Coordinator with an abstract submitted prior to presentation

Submission

All assignments are to be submitted online via MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through .

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
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Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator

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