Sémantique et Pragmatique: Approches Formelles et
Expérimentales
Semantics and Pragmatics: Formal and
Experimental Approaches
(DEC-B17-S2)
Emmanuel
Chemla (Institut Jean-Nicod & LSCP) and Philippe Schlenker
(Institut
Jean-Nicod & NYU)
École Normale
Supérieure, 2e trimestre 2009
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[This page will
keep evolving in February - April; please check back here for the
most current information]
Last modified: February 9, 2009
Note:
Le cours sera
donné en français; les supports de cours seront en
anglais, mais les devoirs pourront être rendus en français
(ou en anglais, si l'étudiant le préfère).
If you
intend to take this course, please contact the instructors by e-mail as
soon as possible so they can send you the password and provide further
information about the course.
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Instructors: Emmanuel
Chemla
Post-doctorant, Institut Jean-Nicod & LSCP (DEC)
E-mail: my_last_name@ens.fr
Philippe
Schlenker
Directeur de
Recherche, Institut Jean-Nicod (DEC)
Global Distinguished
Professor, NYU
E-mail:
my_first_name.my_last_name@gmail.com
Schedule:
3 hours per week during 10 weeks
Tuesday, 4:30pm-7:30pm, INFO
5
First
Meeting: February 10, 2009
Textbook:
Heim & Kratzer, Semantics in
Generative Grammar
(will
be used as background reading for some parts of the course).
Pre-requisites:
Some experience with elementary logic and/or an introduction to
linguistics. In case of doubt, please contact the instructors by e-mail.
Description: This
course will offer an intensive introduction to the formal and
experimental methods used in contemporary research on meaning. We
characterize
knowledge of meaning as
knowledge of
truth conditions. The goal of
semantics
is thus to uncover the rules that allow the speakers of a language to
know
under what conditions any sentence is true; or in other words, to
construct
a
theory of truth for natural
language. We will do so for fragments (i.e. simple formal
languages) that include: proper names, pronouns and predicates;
generalized quantifiers (e.g.
some,
every,
most); definite descriptions (
the); and simple
temporal
and modal expressions. Special attention will be
devoted
to the division of labor between semantics and pragmatics, and we will
offer
simplified analyses of presuppositions and implicatures. An unusual
feature of this course is that it will include several examples of
experimental methods used to
investigate the semantic and pragmatic phenomena under consideration.
Ce cours offre une introduction intensive
à la sémantique contemporaine et à ses
méthodes formelles et expérimentales. Nous
caractérisons la connaissance de la signification comme une
connaissance des conditions de vérité. Le but de la
sémantique est ainsi de découvrir les règles par
lesquelles un locuteur peut savoir sous quelles conditions une phrase
est vraie ou fausse; ou pour le dire autrement, il s'agira de
construire une théorie de la
vérité pour les langues naturelles. Nous
développerons ce programme pour des 'fragments' (i.e. des
modèles simplifiés de langues réelles) qui
incluent des noms propres, des pronoms, et des prédicats; des
'quantificateurs généralisés' (un, chaque, la
plupart); des descriptions définies (le); et des expressions
temporelles et modales. Nous porterons une attention
particulière à la division du travail entre
sémantique et pragmatique, et nous offrirons une analyse
simplifiée des présuppositions et des implicatures. Ce
cours aura la caractéristique inhabituelle de combiner
méthodes formelles et méthodes expérimentales en
sémantique et pragmatique.
Requirements:
-Do the readings and participate actively in class discussions.
-Homeworks will be assigned on a weekly basis. They may take a variety
of
forms: formal exercises, empirical investigations, article discussion,
etc.
-One short final paper is expected as well.
Semantics at ENS: SIGMA
(Structures and
Interpretations: Grammars, Models and Analyses)
To access the rest of this page (and
links to
papers), you will need a password. (You
may send e-mail to the instructor to obtain it).
Password (write to the lecturer if you
have lost the password)