2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

LING3370 Experimental Pragmatics

20 creditsClass Size: 18

Module manager: Dr Catherine Davies
Email: c.n.davies@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2017/18

Pre-requisite qualifications

LING1080 Linguistics 2
OR
LING1100 Language Meaning and Use
OR
LING2130 Psycholinguistics
OR
LING3350 Language Processing

This module is mutually exclusive with

LING2430

Experimental Pragmatics

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

This module provides an introduction to experimental pragmatics in order to explore the layers of meaning beyond what is literally encoded in utterances. It takes an experimental approach, capitalising on the recent explosion of interest in using empirical data rather than intuition to test theoretical predictions. We examine the motivations for experimental work as a means of distinguishing between competing accounts of meaning in context, and discuss the importance of psychological validity to contemporary theoretical approaches. We will discuss a series of case studies which illustrate how experimental techniques have provided insights into widely-discussed issues in theoretical pragmatics.The contribution of experimental data to pragmatic and semantic theory is discussed from a number of different angles, including implicature, reference assignment, pragmatic development, impairment, and processing. Students will also deepen their understanding of methods in empirical linguistics.**English Language / Psychology students may need to do some preparatory reading to equip themselves with the core linguistic concepts built on in this module**

Objectives

The module aims to:

1. Revise key concepts in pragmatics
2. Allow students to compare the major theoretical accounts underpinning research in pragmatics
3. Introduce students to the key experimental methodologies used in pragmatics, and to examine the importance of psychological validity to contemporary theoretical approaches.
4. Develop students' analytical skills through practical analyses of experimental data and source readings.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate a coherent and detailed understanding of the terminology, concepts, information, practical competencies and techniques used in experimental pragmatics
2. critically analyse aspects of experimental design and methodology used in experimental pragmatics, to analyse its data, and to select such data to illustrate a point under discussion, all using appropriate technical terms
3. read and show critical awareness of the literature in scientific journals
4. present a structured and coherent argument (using detailed linguistic and critical terminology) supported by information collected from different sources, which has been synthesised into a coherent and cohesive whole, referenced appropriately
5. effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms
6. understand how experimental pragmatics fits together with other disciplines (e.g. psycholinguistics and developmental psychology)
7. demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between theory and data in experimental pragmatics, and the importance of a theory's explanatory power
8. demonstrate an understanding of the competitive nature of opposing theories, and to be able to assess the contribution of evidence to conflicting claims

Syllabus

The module introduces the concepts involved in meaning in language and examines how meaning is both explicitly stated and implicitly conveyed. We will cover key concepts in semantics such as sense, reference, denotation, connotation, sentence, utterance, and proposition, as well as pragmatic fundamentals such as context, reference, deixis, speech acts, and implicature.

With these foundations in place, we will discuss the ways in which interlocutors negotiate the gap between literal meaning and intended meaning with an emphasis on empirical research throughout. Test cases such as scalar implicature, reference assignment, and metaphor will illustrate the wider nature of semantic and pragmatic processing in both adults and children. Atypical pragmatic development will also be discussed in examining the place of pragmatics in both language development and social cognition.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	10	1.50	15.00
Seminar	5	1.00	5.00
Private study hours			180.00
Total Contact hours			20.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

4 hours reading per lecture (40 hours)
4 hours preparation on set readings for seminars (20 hours)
3 hours preparation for non-assessed exercises (30 hours)
45 hours preparation for assessed essay
45 hours preparation for examination
= 180 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Progress will be monitored through in-class exercises / discussion. Written feedback on the coursework assessment will be returned before the examination.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	3,000 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Exams

Exam type	Exam duration	% of formal assessment
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc)	2 hr 00 mins	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)		50.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 23/02/2017

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