Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the meaning system of English. It will consider the nature of meaning, different types of meaning, the relationships between meaning and form, and how words are linked by different semantic relationships. It will also examine the processes by which meaning is achieved by the users in contexts of use, by considering pragmatic concepts such as speech acts, the cooperative principle, and politeness, and by considering the relationships between spoken and written texts and their situational, institutional and cultural contexts, the similarities and differences of spoken and written language, and the organisation of different types of genre, including those required in and important to educational educational contexts.