About this course: The aim of the course is to obtain the idea of the lexicon as a complex system and to get the methodology of the typological approach to the lexicon cross-linguistically, as well as to learn about the general mechanisms of semantic shift and their typological relevance. By the end of the course the students should know the basic principles of lexical organization, the main parameters of semantic variations in lexicon, and be able to apply the basic methods of the analysis of lexical meaning to different lexical domains. The course is designed for students of linguistic programs (BA, MA, PhD), as well as for teachers and researchers in the named field. The course contains the overview of different approaches to the semantic description of lexical items and lexical systems in different languages and discusses the methodology of Moscow Lexical Typology Group (lecture 1). This methodology (“frame approach”) is illustrated with the data of the following domains: aquamotion verbs (lecture 2), verbs of falling (lecture 3), adjectives denoting oldness (lecture 4) and pain metaphors (lecture 5 and 6). The results of the analyses are visualized with specially constructed lexical semantic maps.
Who is this class for: Students of linguistics
Created by: Higher School of Economics
Taught by: Ekaterina Rakhilina , Professor
School of Linguistics
| Level | Advanced |
| Commitment | 5 hours: 2 hours – video lectures, 3 hours – reading, home tasks, peer review of home tasks |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
What is special about lexical typology: methodological issues
This lecture is the introduction to the whole course. It describes different approaches to the semantic typology of lexicon and presents research methodology of the Moscow Lexical Typology Group.
5 videos
- Video: About us. General remarks
- Video: Groups and names
- Video: MLEXT Methodology
- Video: Linguistic resources for lexical typology
- Video: Theoretical background
Graded: Frames in cross-linguistic comparison: Oscillation
WEEK 2
Does the octopus swim? AQUA-motion in cross-linguistic perspective
The lecture considers the project on AQUA-motion verbs in more than 50 languages and describes the possible strategies of colexification of basic situations denoting being in water and motion in water.
7 videos
- Video: Introduction
- Video: Semantic maps: Strategies of colexification-1
- Video: Strategies of colexification-2: Additional oppositions
- Video: Strategies of colexification-3
- Video: Meaning shifts-1
- Video: Meaning shifts-2
- Video: Lack of standard metaphors
Graded: AQUA-motion verbs
WEEK 3
Jack and Jill fell down the hill: Typological approach to verbs of falling
The lecture describes the results of our research on the typology of verbs of falling, including types of falling and falling metaphors. In addition, it focuses on special cases and several other semantic fields closely related to falling.
5 videos
- Video: Typology of verbs of motion
- Video: Falling: Semantic space
- Video: Oppositions between the main frames
- Video: Related semantic fields
- Video: Metaphors of falling
Graded: Trajector + Goal
WEEK 4
How do we think about oldness?
This lecture tells about the experiment of a dictionary-based semantic analysis of quality terms describing the domain of OLD in 100 languages. Semantic systems and semantic oppositions within these systems are revealed and it is argued that the linguistic behavior of quality terms is semantically motivated.
4 videos
- Video: Introduction
- Video: Semantics of ‘OLD’
- Video: Typological results: How do languages structure the domain of ‘OLD’?
- Video: Additional oppositions
Graded: How do we think about oldness?
WEEK 5
Words that change their meaning: pain metaphors and pain constructions. Part 1
This lecture introduces the notion of secondary pain terms. Unlike prototypical pain verbs, which have pain as their direct initial meaning, secondary pain terms denote other types of situations, like cutting, burning, etc., while pain is their secondary meaning. The lecture shows that the corresponding semantic shifts are far from trivial.
4 videos
- Video: Introduction
- Video: General issue
- Video: The first question
- Video: Morphology of pain constructions
Graded: Pain metaphors and pain constructions
WEEK 6
Words that change their meaning: pain metaphors and pain constructions. Part 2
This lecture continues discussing secondary pain terms. It points out the syntactic and semantic peculiarities of this shift to the pain domain and considers their contribution to the theory of metaphor and metonymy.
5 videos
- Video: Morphosyntax of pain constructions
- Video: Syntax of pain constructions: General remarks
- Video: Syntactic patterns of pain constructions
- Video: Semantics of pain constructions
- Video: Conclusion
Graded: Pain metaphors and pain constructions. Part 2
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Higher School of Economics
National Research University - Higher School of Economics (HSE) is one of the top research universities in Russia. Established in 1992 to promote new research and teaching in economics and related disciplines, it now offers programs at all levels of university education across an extraordinary range of fields of study including business, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, political science, international relations, law, Asian studies, media and communications, IT, mathematics, engineering, and more.
Learn more on www.hse.ru
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