EL2010 Words and Meanings: Lexis and Semantics
Course Guide:: Handbook:: Good Writing Guide :: Reading List :: MyAberdeen
CREDIT POINTS 15
Course Co-ordinator: Dr R Millar
Pre-requisite(s): None.
Note(s): This is a 6-week course
Meaning is at the heart of our understanding of language, ourselves and the world; and yet it is notoriously difficult to ‘tie down’. Why do I think a particular word means one thing while you think it means something – subtly or significantly – different? This course gives you the opportunity to explore these issues. You will learn how we construct hierarchies of meaning and how these may differ from language to language; you will also come to understand how what a word means can differ from place to place and at different times. The course also considers how dictionaries and thesauri are constructed.
2 one-hour lectures, one line workshop and one-hour tutorial per week.
1st attempt: One 2,000 word essay (50%); homework exercise (30%), tutorial assessment (20%).
Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).