Course syllabus for Introduction to semantics (ENG 262)
1. Faculty member information:
Name of faculty member responsible for the course
Arwa Alrumaih
Office Hours
Tuesday: 8:30 to 10:30 ; Wednesday: 8:30 to 10:30
Office Number
1.407
Email
arwarumaih@gmail.com
2. Course overview and general information:
College / Department
College of languages and translation, English department
Course Name and code
Introduction to Semantics ENG 262
Number of credit hours
3 hours
Year/course level
1435/1436 , level 3
Prerequisites for this course (if any)
All level 2 Program Requirements
Site (to be given if not inside the main building of the institution)
Google Groups
arwarumaih.wordpress.com
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‫هـ‬5341 ‫ عمادة ضمان الجودة واالعتماد األكاديمي‬1
3. Objectives of the course:
This course provides the students with the basic principles of undergraduate
level language semantics. The main purpose of the course is to give students
some useful and practical information in order to train their creative thought
so they can understand the complexity of language. At the end of the course,
students will have basic background knowledge of semantics as a field of
study and will be able to do semantic analyses. The theoretical part of this
course is illustrated with numerous examples that will serve as reference
points to the concepts and definitions presented.
4. Course description:
Week
Topic
Activity
Intended learning outcomes
1
Introduction, course plan and
Project
In-class activities
Students should be able to:
About Semantics
In-class activities
Sentence, utterances, and
propositions.
In-class activities
Identify the distinction
between the Semantic meaning
& the Pragmatic Meaning.
Explain the notion of Sentences
utterances, and propositions.
Reference and Sense.
In-class activities
Referring expressions.
In-class activities
1
2
2
3
About the project
First Major Exam
3
Predicates, referring
expressions and universe of
discourse.
‫ البابطين‬.‫م‬
In-class activities
Explain the Pragmatic notion of
Reference & the Semantic
notion of Sense
1. Explain the notion of RE.
2. Differentiate between RE &
non-RE.
1. Explain the notion of
Predicates.
2. Differentiate between RE &
Predicates.
3. Compare & contrast between
the notions of RE, Predicates &
Universe of Discourse.
‫هـ‬5341 ‫ عمادة ضمان الجودة واالعتماد األكاديمي‬2
4
Predicates, referring
expressions and universe of
discourse.
In-class activities
1. Explain the notion of
Predicates.
2. Differentiate between RE &
Predicates.
3. Compare & contrast between
the notions of RE, Predicates &
Universe of Discourse.
Deixis and definiteness.
In-class activities
1. Explain the notion of Deixis.
2. Explain the notion of
Definiteness.
3. Differentiate between the
grammatical definiteness & the
semantic definiteness.
Words and things:
In-class activities
1. Explain the notion of
Extension.
2. Explain the notion of
Prototype.
3. Compare & contrast between
the notions of Prototype &
Stereotype.
Sense properties and
stereotypes.
In-class activities
Sense properties and
stereotypes.
In-class activities
1. Explain the notion of Sense
properties of sentences.
2. Explain the notion of
Stereotype.
3. Differentiate between sense
properties and sense relations.
4
extensions and prototypes.
5
5
6
Second Major Exam
Sense relations (1).
In-class activities
Identify the possible sense
relations of similarity among
predicates.
Sense relations (2).
In-class activities
1. Identify the possible sense
relations of dissimilarity
between predicated.
2. Explain the notion of
Ambiguity.
3. Differentiate between the
6
7
‫ البابطين‬.‫م‬
‫هـ‬5341 ‫ عمادة ضمان الجودة واالعتماد األكاديمي‬3
grammatical ambiguity & the
semantic ambiguity.
3. Compare and contrast
between the notions of
referential versatility,
ambiguity & vagueness.
7
8
Presentation of the projects
Presentation of the projects
Presentation of the projects
8
1. Apply the theoretical
semantic notion of sense on
authentic examples.
2. Improve their translation
skill by working on Arabic and
English.
3. Make use of technology to
present the project.
S. Books and references:
Required Textbook
James R.Hurford and Brendan Heasley. Semantics: A Coursebook. Cambridge University
Press, 1997.
Recommended Books and references
Aalkuli, M. A. An Introduction to Semantics.Amman : Dar Al Falah, 2002
Cruse, A. Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford.
Textbooks in Linguistics.
Davis, S., & Gillon, B. S. Semantics: A reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2003.
Griffiths, P. An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics. Edinburgh.2006.
Kreidler, C. Introducing English Semantics. London: Routledge, 2002.
Richards J. C. & Schmidt R. Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied
Linguistics. London: Longman, 1985.
Saeed, J. I. Semantics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.
Semantics Archive: http://semanticsarchive.net/links.html
Steinmetz, S. Semantic antics: How and why words change meaning. London:
Random House, 2008.
The Handbook of pragmatics: a collection of original articles that outline the central
themes and challenges for current research in the field of linguistic pragmatics:
http://depositfiles.com/en/files/2898294
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‫هـ‬5341 ‫ عمادة ضمان الجودة واالعتماد األكاديمي‬4
6. Assessment methods and the division of grades:
Assessment method
(Write an essay - test - a collective
project - a final test ...)
Assessment
Week
Grade
Percentage
from
overall
grade
Attendance, participation, pop oral
quiz & assignments
All weeks
5
5%
First Major Exam
3
20
20%
Second Major Exam
6
20
20%
Project
7-8
15
15%
40
40%
Final Exam
Comments
7. Instructions (if any):
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is using another person’s work, ideas, or words as your own. The
penalty for plagiarism is failure in the course.
‫ البابطين‬.‫م‬
‫هـ‬5341 ‫ عمادة ضمان الجودة واالعتماد األكاديمي‬5