Plural Semantics - Einzelansicht

On the optimistic assumption that the Corona situation remains halfway stable, the plan is to teach the course in class. In-class attendance takes place on a voluntary basis. The first intro meeting on 3 November will be online-only!

The course will also be transmitted online via zoom - we will use the same zoom-meeting throughout the semester:

https://uni-potsdam.zoom.us/j/62086512105

Meeting-ID: 620 8651 2105
Kenncode: 68156937

For in-class teaching, the maximal number of persons allowed in the room will be restricted to 8. With more than 8 course participants, we would change to a hybrid system with two groups and bi-weekly in-class attendance and bi-weekly zoom attendance, respectively.

Notice that a strict airing plolicy will be implemented, so be prepared to bring and wear warm clothing. We will aim at a cosy wintercamp feeling.

The moodle- course page is here: https://moodle2.uni-potsdam.de/course/view.php?id=11693

Contents: The class will provide you with an overview of the central issues surrounding the interpretation of morphologically plural expressions, such as 'apples'. These differ in meaning from SG expressions ('apple') in a number of ways, with plenty of repercussions for the compositional semantics of the clause. The first part of class will set up the formal semantics of plural (and mass!) expressions on the basis of German and English. In the second part of class, we will then look at sentential semantic phenomena triggered by plural expressions (distributivity, collectivity, reciprocity, cumulativity, event plurality). In the third class, we will look at number marking from a cross-linguistic perspective with a focus on Non-Indoeuropena languages (Mandarin, Turkish, Wolof, Dagaare, and the Amazonian language Yudja etc.)

The following requirements hold for course credit: (i.) one written homework assignment on the formal semantics of plurals (3-4 pages); (ii.) one in-class presentation (or via zoom) of an article on plural semantics; (iii.) course project plus written summary.

For the module exam: elaboration of the course project in the form of a term paper (15 pages).