Universität Wien

100099 PS Proseminar: Linguistics (2014S)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 10 - Deutsche Philologie
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. 40 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 05.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 19.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 26.03. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 02.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 09.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 30.04. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 07.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 14.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 21.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 28.05. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 04.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 11.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 18.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 25.06. 11:30 - 13:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course focusses on the meaning and the syntactic properties of quantificatonal expressions in natural languages. Our empirical point of departure is the behavior of such expressions in German, but we will also consider the cross-linguistic situation, that is, typological variation and universals.
Quantificational expressions are of the utmost importance for syntactic theory as well as for semantic theory. Concerning syntax, their behavior motivates the postulation of "invisible" syntactic operations, i.e. of syntactic operations that cannot simply be "read off" surface structure. We will discuss the core data underlying this assumption and investigate whether these "invisible" syntactic operations are subject to the same constraints as the visible ones; furthermore, we will try to find out whether all quantificational expressions behave alike in this respect.
Regarding semantics, quantificational expressions reveal the complexity of the "meaning spectrum" of natural languages, since they generally establish a relation between abstract semantic objects. We will discuss which syntactic elements may have that type of meaning, go through the standard semantic analyses of quantification and their application, and eventually address some more complex phenomena, such as plural quantification and constructions where the quantificational expression does not form a surface constituent.

Assessment and permitted materials

Homeworks + Paper (max. 15 pages) on a given topic

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

This course aims at providing the students with a grasp of the linguistic relevance of its subject matter. As all the theoretical assumptions that we address in the course will be derived from empirical observations and as the students are encouraged to partake in the discussion of these observations (both in class as well as in their homeworks and term paper), this course will also give the students notion of what it means to do linguistic research and how exactly such research links empirical facts to theoretical claims.

Examination topics

Reading list

will be announced in class

Association in the course directory

(I 1233, I 2900)

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:32