Modern Grammatical and Semantic Theory

ECTS Credits

15

Level of Study

Master

Teaching semester

Spring

Place of Instruction

Bergen.

Objectives and Content

The course content is modern, central research in syntactic and semantic theory, for instance Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), Principles and Parameters theory, optimality theory, Cognitive Grammar, Discourse Representation Theory (DRT), current methods within Lexical Semantics, or other relevant frameworks.

Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to

• critically assess newer scientific works within the studied linguistic discipline(s)
• describe imprortant concepts and principles in syntactic and semantic theory
• evaluate and compare various approaches to linguistic description
• apply methods and concepts in one's own study of language
• use linguistic argumentation related to syntactic or semantic phenomena
• have a critical view of one's own or others' analyses

Required Previous Knowledge

None.

Recommended Previous Knowledge

None.

Access to the Course

Open to all who have been admitted to the master's program in Linguistics at the University of Bergen.

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and seminars, about 24 hours per semester.

If fewer than five students are registered to a course, the department might reduce the teaching, please see the department's guidelines regarding this on "Mitt UiB". For courses where this is a possibility, the students get information about this at the beginning of the semester, and before the deadline regarding semester registration February 1 / September 1.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

The student must hand in an obligatory assignment which must be approved in the semester of teaching. Obligatory activities must be approved before the exam in the subject can be taken. Approval is valid for three semesters in total, including the semester of teaching.

Forms of Assessment

7-day individual digital take-home exam, consisting of a paper with a length of about 3000-5000 words (not counting references and appendices).

It is not allowed for the candidates to cooperate with each other or to put questions pertinent to the subject to the teacher after the exam has started. The start of the exam is the time when the exam assignments become available to the candidates.

Examination Support Material

Allowed aids are literature, library resources, references and tools indicated by the teacher. All used aids must be cited.

Grading Scale

A-F.

Assessment Semester

Spring. There is also an exam early in the fall semester for students with valid and approved obligatory assignments.

Reading List

Scientific articles related to the course theme, about 400-500 pages.

Course Evaluation

Evaluation of the offered course will be carried out in accordance with the University of Bergen's quality assessment system.