Topics in Japanese Linguistics: An Introduction to Formal Semantics

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course introduces the fundamentals of formal semantics within the traditions of generative grammar while comparing and contrasting bits and pieces of the English and Japanese languages. Competent speakers of human natural language can produce and understand an unbounded range of novel sentences with novel meanings. Formal semantic studies offer models of how the meanings of complex expressions are constructed from the meanings of their constituents. The goal of this course is two-fold. First, you will become familiar with the basic tools of semantics, such as type theory and lambda notations, by using them to analyze fragments of English sentences. Second, you will also apply the learned knowledge to analyzing fragments of Japanese sentences to gain a proper understanding of the similarities and differences between English and Japanese. During class, you will discuss and work through exercise problems, often in groups.

COURSE GOALS

You will learn the fundamental concepts and tools of formal semantics.

You will become able to analyze simple sentences of English and Japanese using the basic tools of formal semantics.

You will become able to reflect on the diversity and commonalities across different human natural languages in a theoretically principled manner.

COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to Change)

1. Introducing semantics: What is the goal of semantics? The unboudedness of language

2. Formal foundations: phrase structure rules, sets

3. Building a simple semantics1: phrase structure rules revisited, functions

4. Building a simple semantics 2: scrambling, type theory, lambda notations

5. Verbal meanings and non-verbal predicates

8. Review of Type-theoretic semantics

7. Modifiers and the definite article

8. Relative clauses

9. Quantifiers

10. Quantifier Raising

11. Pronouns

12. Missing articles: bare nouns in Japanese

13. Review of the second half