2009 Course Handbook
LING320: Grammar, Semantics and Context: Stratification and Variation
Since linguistic evidence provides the primary data in the study of so much of our cultural experience, more powerful linguistic generalisations help us to better understand complex phenomena like ideological patterning, social groupings (or networks), 'personality', and the milieu of scientific inquiry or of business and economics. Many kinds of linguistic analysis will contribute to understanding such cultural phenomena - for example, the patterns of process type, or thematic prominence, or mood selection in the grammar. But none of the singular linguistic statements can provide the power of cultural insight that is produced when we inter-relate structure statements from the levels of context, semantics and lexicogrammar. The theory and practice of this interrelation of linguistics statement will constitute the core of this course. Consequently, we will set out from the characterisation of text, text-ness and texture and seek answers to issues about the basis of textuality and coherence: the relative 'making sense' of the linguistic (and other) sign systems about us in our culture. Each seminar is conceptualised as a combination of descriptive tools and an issue that demonstrates the usefulness or 'motivation' for such linguistic inquiry.
| Credit Points: | 4 |
| Contact Hours: | 3 |
| When Offered: | 2010 - offered in 2010 |
| Staff Contact: | Associate Professor David Butt |
| Prerequisites: | LING211 |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCWs: | LING311 |
| Unit Designations: | Science |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: |
Department of Linguistics |