Language and thought: an introduction to argument structure

What is the difference between “Dog bites man” and “Man bites dog”? How do we know that these two sentences describe different events in the real world? In this module, we will learn how language enables us to talk about the world around us, focusing in particular on how it helps us keep track of who does what to whom.

Prerequisites: No prior background in syntax or semantics is assumed.

(This module is part of the UCL Linguistics Short Courses 2024, organised by Yiling Huo and Boyan Yin.)

Outline:

SessionsDate & TimeVenue
1Event structure [slides]25 Oct 2024, 09:00-10:00Chandler House B07 / Zoom
2Linking theories [slides]1 Nov 2024, 09:00-10:00Chandler House B07 / Zoom
3Decompositional approaches to argument structure [slides]15 Nov 2024, 09:00-10:00Chandler House B07 / Zoom
4Projectionist approaches to argument structure [slides]22 Nov 2024, 09:00-10:00Chandler House B07 / Zoom
5Case study: resultatives [slides]29 Nov 2024, 09:00-10:00Chandler House B07 / Zoom