EPISTEMIC MODALITY IN COGNITIVE GRAMMAR
Tutor: Vesselina Koynakova
Mode of delivery: seminars
Course place and status within the program: Elective course
Competence expectations
The students are expected to be able to compare and contrast the usage of epistemic markers, denoting logical necessity, probability, and predictability, both in English and Bulgarian.
Aims and objectives of the course
The main objective of the course is to introduce the students to the theoretical frameworks of Cognitive Lingusitics and the ways they treat modal auxiliaries, modal adverbs, modal predicative adjectives, and mental state predicates in English. The theory is then applied to the respective markers in Bulgarian. A comparison is drawn with the findings of Descriptive Linguistics – the focus is on the difference and similarity of usage of the markers, based on authentic material both form written and spoken language.
Weekly organization of topics & reading assignments
1. Epistemic Modality in Descriptive Linguistics. The meanings of logical necessity, probability, and predictability. 2. The English modal auxiliaries in Langacker’s epistemic model. 3. Fauconnier’s theory of mental spaces. 4. The expression units of epistemic modality in English: modal verbs, modal adverbs, mental state predicates, and modal predicative adjectives. 5. The Expression units of epistemic modality in Bulgarian. 6. Comparing English and Bulgarian paradigm. 7. Bulgarian epistemic markers in Langacker’s epistemic model and Fauconnier’s model of mental space. 8. Exploring source – translation patterns in literary works and justifying useful translation strategies.Course requirements
Throughout the course work the students are required to actively participate in the discussions during the seminars and do some independent research in the subject area.
Mode of assessment
The students are assessed on the grounds of a course project .
Bibliography
1. Fauconnier Gilles. “Chapter 14: Mental Spaces”. The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Ed. Dirk Geeraerts, Dirk and Hubert Guyckens. Oxford: Ox-ford University Press, 2007. 2. Langacker, Ronald. Foundations of Cognitive Grammar – Descriptive Application. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991. 3. Langacker, Ronald. Cognitive Grammar – A Basic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press: 2008. 4. Jan Nuyts. Epistemic Modality, Language and Conceptualisation. John Benjamins Publishing Company. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia, 2001. 5. Palmer, F.R. Mood and Modality. Cambridge University Press, 1993. 6.Quirk, R. et al. (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman. 7. Георгиев, Станю. Морфология на съвременния български език. Наука и изкуство, 1983. 8. Куцаров, Иван. Очерк по функционално-семантична граматика на българския език: ПУ “ Пайсий Хилендарски”, 1989. 9. Пашов, Петър. Практическа българска граматика. София: Просвета, 1994.MORPHOLOGY OF THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Tutor: Vesselina Koynakova
Mode of delivery: lectures and seminars
Course place and status within the program: Core subject
Competence expectations
The students are expected to be able analyse word formation patterns, word classes, and morphological grammatical categories and markers.
Aims and objectives of the course
The main objective of the course is to introduce students to the theoretical framework of Descriptive Lingusitics and its methods of analysis applied to Word Formation, Word Classes, and Morphological Grammatical Categories and markers.
Weekly organization of topics & reading assignments
TOPIC 1 Introduction. Basic principles, methods and operations of linguistic analysis. Units of morphological description – the word, the morpheme, the inflection.
TOPIC 2 Grammatical categories and markers. Parts of speech-open and closed classes; characteristics of the open and closed classes (systems). Notional, functional classes.
TOPIC 3 Word-formation. General principles, considerations, tendencies.
TOPIC 4 Major WF Patterns: Affixation, Conversion, and Compounding.
TOPIC 5 Marginal derivational types: Clipping, Blending, etc.
TOPIC 6 The English Noun. Morphological classes: simple, derivative, compound, substantivized forms. Semantic classes: proper, common, countable, uncountable, abstract, concrete. Shifts of semantic classes
TOPIC 7 The English Noun. Grammatical categories. Number: invariables -singular (take singular verb) – mass concrete, mass abstract, most proper nouns, some nouns ending in ‘s’-news, measles, mathematics, etc., abstract adjectival heads (of noun phrases) – the good, the beautiful; plural-summation plurals -scissors,trousers etc., some proper nouns – mountain ranges, etc. – Alps, Netherlands, USA; lexicalised plurals: arms, goods, etc., collective plurals: cattle, (some, like family, police, may take either sg or pl verb); personal adjectival heads -the living, the dead, the wounded.
TOPIC 8 Variables – regular-/s/, /z/, /iz/, treatment of ‘y’ endings. Doubling of final consonant. Irregular- voicing-/s/-/z/; / /- / /; /f/-/v/-+ forms that take either regular or voicing, mutation: foot-feet, zero plural: sheep, trout, deer, en plural: oxen, children, brethren, foreign plurals, native: museums, foreign: phenomena, both: stadiums, stadia
TOPIC 9 Gender: lexico-grammatical category, classes, pronoun substitution, morphological markers.
TOPIC 10 Case Genitive markers: ’s, ‘, of phrase-grammatical functions – subjective, objective, possessive + meanings of -origin, descriptive/qualitative, partitive etc; structural forms – locative, elliptic, group, double – 2 часа
TOPIC 11 The English article -a/n, the, zero- specific and generic reference. Predetermines, central determiners, postdeterminers. The English Pronouns.
TOPIC 12 The English Verb. General characteristics, types of verbs (oppositions). Finite and non-finite verb phrases (the infinitive, the ing form, the past participle). Grammatical categories.
TOPIC 13 Time and tense. Present tense with -present time reference, -past time reference. Past tense with -present time reference, -past time reference. Futurity. Ways of expressing future time reference.
TOPIC 14 Aspect and aspectuality. Progressive-nonprogressive. Perfect: non-perfect.
TOPIC 15 Modality and modal verbs. Mood.
TOPIC 16 Voice. Active-passive transformations.
TOPIC 17 The English adjective. Classifications, types, criteria.
TOPIC 18 The English adverb. Classifications.Closed and open classes.
TOPIC 19 Prepositions, conjunctions, and particles.
Course requirements
Throughout the course work the students are required to actively participate in the discussions during the seminars and do 2 practice tests: one on The English Noun and the other one -on The English verb.
Mode of assessment
The students are assessed on the grounds of a written exam. They are expected to do a practice test and discuss a linguistic issue from the subject area.
Bibliography
The general bibliography for the course includes:
1. Douglas Biber. Longman Grammar of Written and Spoken English-2001, Pearson Education Limited
2. R.Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum. A University Grammar of English -,1996, Longman Group Limited
3. R.Quirk et al. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language – 1994, Longman Group Limited
4. Rodney Huddleston. Introduction to the Grammar of English -1993, Cambridge University Press
5. Jana Molhova, Christo Stamenov, A Stoevsky. Readings in Theoretical Grammar: The English Verb, Second Edition,1988. The Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.
6. Веселина Койнакова, Сашко Павлов. Помагало по морфология на САЕ, 2002, Пловдивско университетско издателство.
