Universität Wien

120052 SE Linguistics Seminar / BA-Arbeit / MA historical & descriptive linguistics / MA applied linguistics (2011S)

Hedging and being vague

11.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 12 - Anglistik
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").

Details

max. 18 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

  • Mittwoch 09.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 16.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 23.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 30.03. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 06.04. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 13.04. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 04.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 11.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 18.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Freitag 20.05. 14:00 - 20:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
  • Samstag 21.05. 09:00 - 14:00 Besprechungsraum Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O2-07
  • Mittwoch 25.05. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 01.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 08.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 15.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 22.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A
  • Mittwoch 29.06. 12:00 - 14:00 Raum 5 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-17
    Seminarraum 6 Anglistik UniCampus Hof 8 3E-O1-22.A

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

It is sometimes thought that being vague is bad language use. In this seminar we will see that this is far from true: vagueness is an inherent characteristic of language and being able to express vagueness appropriately is an essential communicative skill. We will investigate the use of explicit hedges such as sort of, like, approximately, I think and placeholders such as thing, stuff but also cases of so-called loose talk, which are not flagged by explicit markers (e.g. See you in 5 minutes). Among the questions we will discuss are the following:
- What are the communicative functions of hedges?
- How are they used in different text types?
- How is vagueness accounted for in different theoretical models?
- To what extent is hedging culture-specific and why is it a difficult topic for language learners?

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

Participants will be assessed on the basis of their oral presentations, written research papers, and in-class participation. All presentations take place during a seminar conference in May (Friday 20 Mai afternoon and Saturday 21 May).

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

Participants will become aware of the pervasiveness of vague language and how it is used to achieve a range of different communicative effects. They will be able to identify vague language use in spoken and written texts and develop a better understanding of how we interpret the meaning of utterances in context.

Prüfungsstoff

The initial sessions will be used to introduce participants to the topic and help them develop their research questions. This introductory phase involves the discussion of articles, text analysis in groups, and practical work with computer corpora. The second phase of the course is reserved for individual project work. In the final phase, participants will present their projects and findings in oral presentations and written research papers.

Literatur

Channel, J. 1994. Vague language. Oxford: OUP.
Cutting, J. (ed.) 2007. Vague language explored. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillian.
Jucker, A. H. et al. 2003. "Interactive aspects of vagueness in conversation" . Journal of Pragmatics 35: 1737-1769.
Kaltenböck, G.; Mihatsch, W.; Schneider, S. (eds.) 2010. New approaches to hedging. Bingley: Emerald.
Prince, E.F. et al. 1982. "On hedging in physician-physician discourse". In: Di Pietro, R. J. (ed.) Linguistics and the Professions. Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Delaware Symposium on Language Studies. Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 83-97.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Studium: Diplom 343, UF 344, BA 612, ME 812;
Code/Modul: 222, 226/228, 236/238, 721-723, 821, BA8, ME4, ME5;
Lehrinhalt: 12-0312

Letzte Änderung: Mo 07.09.2020 15:33