Last modified: 05 Oct 2023 08:46
In this course, students will critically engage with some of the principal concepts in research on Information Structure — the study of how we ‘package’ information in communication, such as Focus, Topic and Givenness. Students will develop their individual research projects in their language of choice to describe how syntax, morphology, or intonation can serve to highlight discourse-relevant information or instruct the addressee that they take this information for granted.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This course will provide a basic introduction to Information Structure. Information Structure deals primarily with how the form of a linguistic expression reflects the temporary state of a discourse, and so is concerned with “information packaging” as opposed to strictly semantic content. We will examine the central notions of Information Structure, including Topic, Focus and Givenness, both their semantic/pragmatic interpretation and their manifestation in prosody (e.g. sentence stress) and in syntax (e.g. clefts, topicalization, left/right dislocation). During the course, students will be expected to participate in seminar-type discussions, present literature reviews (both orally and in writing), conduct original research, participate in a research group, and present research findings (both orally and in writing).
A familiar example from English illustrates the types of problems explored. Consider the following four distinct possible pronunciations of the sentence ‘John likes Mary’: JOHN likes Mary, John likes MARY, John LIKES Mary, and JOHN likes MARY. The differences among these variants are said to be differences in the expression of focus. What precisely is it about each of these pronunciations that makes it phonetically and phonologically distinct from the others? Observe that each of these pronunciations imposes distinct conditions on the discourse contexts in which it can be felicitously used. What are these conditions? How are they best characterized? How do other languages express these same variations in information packaging? Some languages do not use prosody at all, but instead use morphological or syntactic means to give expression to focus variants. Many languages, including English, use a combination these strategies.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 14 | Feedback Weeks | 17 | |
| Feedback |
500 words abstract to be submitted in preparation for the mini-end-of-course conference presentation. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students can conduct their own research in a sub-area of Information Structure, building on the research project completed |
| Conceptual | Understand | Students can define key concepts in the field of Information Structure and identify their limitations. |
| Factual | Remember | Students can provide examples of cross-linguistic variation in marking new, old, and contrastive information. |
| Procedural | Apply | Students can apply methods from different linguistic modules to the phenomena relevant in Information Structure research. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 3,5,7,9 | Feedback Weeks | 4,6,8,10 | |
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Students can define key concepts in the field of Information Structure and identify their limitations. |
| Procedural | Apply | Students can apply methods from different linguistic modules to the phenomena relevant in Information Structure research. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 8 | Feedback Weeks | 8 | |
| Feedback |
In-class peer-feedback and written feedback on presentation and content. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students can conduct their own research in a sub-area of Information Structure, building on the research project completed |
| Procedural | Apply | Students can apply methods from different linguistic modules to the phenomena relevant in Information Structure research. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | Feedback Weeks | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | |
| Feedback |
Combination of attendance & participation |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Students can define key concepts in the field of Information Structure and identify their limitations. |
| Factual | Remember | Students can provide examples of cross-linguistic variation in marking new, old, and contrastive information. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Grades and feedback will be provided via Turnitin. |
Word Count | 3000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Students can conduct their own research in a sub-area of Information Structure, building on the research project completed |
| Procedural | Apply | Students can apply methods from different linguistic modules to the phenomena relevant in Information Structure research. |
| Factual | Remember | Students can provide examples of cross-linguistic variation in marking new, old, and contrastive information. |
| Conceptual | Understand | Students can define key concepts in the field of Information Structure and identify their limitations. |
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