Ling K: Pragmatics (and Semantics) (advanced)
Block 1
Tuesday & Thursday, 9:00-10:20 am (NY)
(Lagos: 5:00-6:20 pm; Central Europe: 6:00-7:20; Kyiv/St. P: 7:00-8:20)
This seminar explores central issues at the interface of semantics and pragmatics, examining how meaning is shaped not only by linguistic structure but also by context, use, intention and even power relations. Students will draw on key insights from the philosophy of language to develop analytical tools for distinguishing between entailments, presuppositions, and implicatures, as well as different types of speech acts. Particular attention will be given to the illocutionary force of utterances and their perlocutionary effects in shaping belief, action, and the common ground. With a special focus on language in the media and the public sphere, the course will equip students to critically analyze how linguistic choices construct, signal, and contest credibility and authority in public discourse.