Linguist 130a/230a: Introduction to semantics and pragmatics

Course TuTh 10:00-11:30 am, 50-52H
Section (130c) Tu, 5:00-6:00 pm, 200-107
Course email
InstructorChristopher Potts
Office hrsW 11:45-12:45,
Th 11:45-12:45
Office460-101
TAEric Acton
Office hrsTh 1:30-2:30
Office460-114
TATania Rojas-Esponda
Office hrsTu 1:30-2:30
Office460-114

Plan Assignment Reading/Reference
Jan 8
  1. Overview of topics
  2. On reading Partee 1995
  1. Assignment 1 [due Jan 22]
  1. Partee 1995, p. 311-330
  2. Optional: Devitt and Sterelny on names
10
  1. Partee 1995: Towards a compositional theory
  2. Materials, data, and results from the in-class definites experiment
  3. On reading Syrett et al. 2009
15
  1. Partee 1995, p. 330-342
  2. Syrett et al. 2009, §2
  3. Optional: remaining sections of Syrett et al. 2009
17
22
  1. Quantifiers
  2. Materials, data, and results from the in-class quantifiers experiment
  1. Assignment 2 [due Jan 29]
  1. Keenan 1996
  2. Optional: von Fintel and Matthewson 2008, §3
24
29
  1. Semantic composition
  1. Assignment 3 [due Feb 5]
  1. Heim and Kratzer 1998, §1
  2. Heim and Kratzer 1998, §2
Jan 31
Feb 5
  1. Pragmatics: introduction by example
  2. Introduction to pragmatics
  3. Some Gricean pragmatic generalizations
  4. Ways of failing to live up to the maxims
  1. Assignment 4 [due Feb 12]
  2. Extra credit 1 [close date Feb 19]
  1. Grice 1975
7
12
  1. Conversational implicature
  2. Materials, data, and results from the in-class reference-games experiment
  1. Mid-term exam distributed [due Feb 14]
  1. Optional: E.O. Keenan 1979
  2. Optional: Stiller et al. 2011
  3. Optional: Frank and Goodman 2012
14
19
  1. Pragmatic orderings
  2. Presupposition
  1. Assignment 5 [due Feb 26]
  2. Optional small final projects
  1. Simons 2006, §1-3
  2. Optional: Heim and Kratzer 1998, §4.4
21
26
  1. Interpreting interrogatives and focus
  2. Diagnosing different kinds of meaning
  1. Assignment 6 [due Mar 5 Mar 7]
  1. Optional: Büring 1999
28
Mar 5
7
  1. Discourse particles
  1. Assignment 7 [due Feb 14]
  2. Extra credit 2 [close date Mar 18]
  1. Acton and Potts 2013
12
  1. The latent social meaning of demonstratives
14
  1. The linguist on the witness stand
  2. Debate: Is this perjury?
  1. Final exam distributed Mar 14 [due Mar 21, 6:30 pm]
  1. Optional: Solan and Tiersma 2005, §11

[Stanford W13 academic calendar]