This course is an introduction to semantics, the study of meaning in natural language.

In general, theories of semantics aim to provide insight into two basic questions:

(i) How can we represent the meaning of a sentence, in order to capture the intuitions of native speakers about truth conditions, ambiguity, contextual felicity, etc?;

(ii) Given a desired semantic representation for a sentence, how can we represent the semantic contributions of its parts, and how can we compose the semantics of the parts into the meaning of the whole?

(i) introduce a formally explicit theory of natural language semantics;
(ii) learn some basic formal tools and get extensive hands-on practice.

Exams (50%). There will be three in-class exams, given roughly every five weeks. The exams will be cumulative. There will be NO make-up exams. If for some reason you cannot make it to an exam, you must let me know in advance.

Homework (35%). Homework assignments will teach you how to do semantics more than anything else. Assignments will generally be assigned every Thursday, and will be due the following Thursday at the beginning of class. Late assignments will NOT be accepted. If you miss class the day an assigment is due and absolutely cannot get your assignment to me, contact me by email. You may work together, as long as you: (i) write the name of the person who you worked with at the top of the page below yours; (ii) write up the assignment you turn in on your own.

Attendance (10%) and Participation (5%). To do well in this course, it is essential that you attend all classes. You are allowed to miss up to two lectures without penalty and without excuses. These allowable absences should be enough to cover most illnesses, family emergencies, and days of religious observance. Because these absences are allowable, you do not need to bring excuses to me. If your absences do not exceed two, you get the full 10 points for the attendance portion of your final course grade. If you miss more than two classes, your grade will be reduced by 2 points for each excess absence, up to a maximum of 10 points. If you feel you merit an exception to this rule, then you should talk to me about it at the end of the semester. I will look at your attendance record and ask you to explain all of your absences throughout the semester.

http://www.er.uqam.ca/merlin/dg791357/teaching/ling320/index.html

Be aware of university regulations on academic honesty! Ask me when in doubt. The following are considered to be cheating: copying or sharing all or part of a homework assignment; copying answers from books; copying or sharing information during an exam.