Linguistics

FLAVIA POMPEO

A) Students will know the scientific literature on the topics dealt with and will be able to comment on it critically;
B) they will be able to formulate linguistic hypotheses on the basis of the acquired analytical concepts and tools;
C) they will be able to integrate their new knowledge with the previous ones in order to face the theoretical and practical complexity of acquired concepts;
D) they also will manage to communicate knowledge interloquendo with specialists of linguistic studies and non-specialists.
E) They will lastly be able to study self-managed or autonomous topics proposed during the course and will be encouraged to cultivate their own scientific interests independently.

A) Students will know the scientific literature on the topics dealt with and will be able to comment on it critically;
B) they will be able to formulate linguistic hypotheses on the basis of the acquired analytical concepts and tools;
C) they will be able to integrate their new knowledge with the previous ones in order to face the theoretical and practical complexity of acquired concepts;
D) they also will manage to communicate knowledge entering in discussion with specialists of linguistic studies and non-specialists.
E) They will lastly be able to study self-managed or autonomous topics proposed during the course and will be encouraged to cultivate their own scientific interests independently.

Students are expected to have either completed the 'General Linguistics' course (basic level) or possess the equivalent knowledge.

This course will provide an introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, an approach to the study of language developed in the mid-1980s. Starting with the basic notions of Cognitive Linguistics, essential aspects of this theory and its developments will be discussed in depth (30 hours).
During the second part of the course (12 hours), a detailed analysis of selected phenomena concerning Indo-European languages, ancient as well as modern, will be carried out.

For both attending and non attending students (a + b):
a) Stefano Arduini, Roberta Fabbri, ‘Che cos'è la linguistica cognitiva’, Collana ‘Le bussole’, Carocci, 2008;
b) essays available on Classroom.

42 hours of lessons and exercises in the classroom.

Regular class attendance is strongly recommended.

Students, both attending and non attending, can choose between two assessment methods:
a) apply for two (optional) written tests: (1) a mid-term test and (2) one test at the end of the course. In both cases, written tests will consist of 32 questions with multiple choice answers (each test lasts around 30 minutes);
b) apply for an oral exam in the scheduled appeals.

Both kinds of exam concern the whole program of the course and are structured in such a way as to verify what follows: if the student possess a theoretical and methodological knowledge and a thorough understanding of the linguistic subjects presented and discussed during the course; if they are able to formulate linguistic hypotheses on the basis of the acquired analytical concepts and tools of the Cognitive Linguistics; if they are able to integrate their new knowledge with the previous ones in order to face the theoretical and practical complexity of Cognitive Linguistics concepts; and, finally, if they are able to communicate knowledge, and to study self-managed or autonomous topics proposed during the course.

• Introduction to the course; introduction to Cognitive Linguistics; Categorization (lessons 1-4).
  • Books: Chapters 1 and 2 of Arduini and Fabbri. Essays: Casadei; Croft and Cruse.


• Metaphor and Metonymy; Cognitive Semantics; exercises (lessons 5-8).
  • Books: Chapters 3 and 4 (2/3) of Arduini and Fabbri. Essays: Lakoff and Johnson; Croft and Cruse.


• Cognitive Semantics (end of Chapter 4); conptualization and construals; essay ''Le espressionidella casualità tra universale e particolare. Considerazioni sull’italiano “toccare in sorte a”' (part 1); exercises (lessons 9-12).
  • Books: Chapters 4 (end) and 5 of Arduini and Fabbri. Essays: Pompeo; Croft and Cruse.


• Mid-term test: first half of the program.Essays: Pompeo 2025 (second part); Langacker, 'Lecture 1. Conceptual Semantics' (first part). Cognitive Grammar; exercises (lessons 13-16).
  • Books: Essays: Pompeo; Langacker; Croft and Cruse. Arduini and Fabbri: Chapter 6.


• Essays: Langacker, 'Lecture 1. Conceptual Semantics' (end); Marotta: la
  sinestesia; Taylor, 'Le costruzioni sintattiche come categorie
  prototipiche'; Kövecses' theory of emotions (lessons 17-20).
  • Books: Essays: Langacker; Marotta; Taylor; Kövecses.


• Final exam: second half of the program.