* to introduce students to the study of meaning in context by investigating aspects of utterance interpretation and of language use
* to chart the shift in the investigation of language use from the theoretical (pragmatics) to the empirical (conversation analysis)
* to acquaint student with current concerns in the study of talk-in-interaction
By the end of the course students should be familiar with a range of issues and debates in contemporary pragmatics and be able to apply their knowledge of these to a variety of problems in the investigation of language use in interaction.
Aims
The course will consist of lecture-plus-seminar/workshops. The lecture component will introduce theoretical concepts, issues and perspectives on them from a range of practicioners; in the seminar/workshop component we will engage with contemporary debate on these issues and apply our knowledge of various analytical perspectives to problems in the investigation of language use.
Starting with the issue of whether it is possible to posit rules of language use, we shall explore how what is said is not necessarily what is meant, by examining the central role of intention in language use, proceeding to consider the notions of Gricean implicature and Speech Act Theory. Consideration of some of the important issues relating to implicature and illocutionary force leads us to examine how such concerns have, in recent years, taken an empirical turn with the study of conversation, or, so-called 'talk-in-interaction'.
The second half of the course will consider how it is possible to make systematic interpretations based on our knowledge of conversational structure. The normative structures of the mainstream conversation analytic tradition will be examined. By looking at a range of contexts we shall investigate how actions are performed, identities constructed and context achieved through talk. We shall then consider how conduct which transcends the verbal (such as gaze and gesture) contributes to our presentation of ourselves in interaction with others; and finally we explore the relationship between grammar and interaction.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students will:
* Have an understanding of the theoretical foundations of pragmatics and conversation analysis
* Be familiar with the study of meaning through investigating aspects of utterance interpretation
* Be able to bring to bear a range of conceptual and analytical tools on pragmatic and interactional data
* Be able to sustain reasoned argumentation through exemplification of pragmatic concepts and identification of relevant interactional data
* to chart the shift in the investigation of language use from the theoretical (pragmatics) to the empirical (conversation analysis)
* to acquaint student with current concerns in the study of talk-in-interaction
By the end of the course students should be familiar with a range of issues and debates in contemporary pragmatics and be able to apply their knowledge of these to a variety of problems in the investigation of language use in interaction.
Aims
The course will consist of lecture-plus-seminar/workshops. The lecture component will introduce theoretical concepts, issues and perspectives on them from a range of practicioners; in the seminar/workshop component we will engage with contemporary debate on these issues and apply our knowledge of various analytical perspectives to problems in the investigation of language use.
Starting with the issue of whether it is possible to posit rules of language use, we shall explore how what is said is not necessarily what is meant, by examining the central role of intention in language use, proceeding to consider the notions of Gricean implicature and Speech Act Theory. Consideration of some of the important issues relating to implicature and illocutionary force leads us to examine how such concerns have, in recent years, taken an empirical turn with the study of conversation, or, so-called 'talk-in-interaction'.
The second half of the course will consider how it is possible to make systematic interpretations based on our knowledge of conversational structure. The normative structures of the mainstream conversation analytic tradition will be examined. By looking at a range of contexts we shall investigate how actions are performed, identities constructed and context achieved through talk. We shall then consider how conduct which transcends the verbal (such as gaze and gesture) contributes to our presentation of ourselves in interaction with others; and finally we explore the relationship between grammar and interaction.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students will:
* Have an understanding of the theoretical foundations of pragmatics and conversation analysis
* Be familiar with the study of meaning through investigating aspects of utterance interpretation
* Be able to bring to bear a range of conceptual and analytical tools on pragmatic and interactional data
* Be able to sustain reasoned argumentation through exemplification of pragmatic concepts and identification of relevant interactional data
- Module Supervisor: Rebecca Clift