This course is no longer offered

10668 Language and Communication 1

Credits: 3 intermediate credits in Communication

Prerequisites: none

Authors: Raphael Nir, Malka Muchnik

The course acquaints students with language as a means of communication in the social and cultural contexts, and with the use of semantic tools for analyzing the meanings of words and phrases. This is achieved through understanding Israeli Hebrew, socio-linguistic phenomena in the mass media and in interpersonal communication.

The linguistic treatment of the topics of the course is enriched with concepts from disciplines such as pragmatics, psychology, sociology and communication, with a view to developing an awareness of linguistic diversity and pluralism. The course combines topics covered in two courses: Hebrew Semantics (10250)2 and Language, Culture and Society (10641), and includes articles on the course website.

Topics: Communication and meaning; Meaning within the linguistic and social context; Shifts in the meaning of words; Homonymy, polysemy and meaning relations; The effect of foreign languages on the semantic and lexical system of contemporary Hebrew; Meaning in circumstantial contexts; Language and gender; Language and ideology; Language and the media; Macro-semantics – meaning and text.

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1There is some overlap in the content of this and other courses. For details, see Overlapping Courses.

2Not all the material on these topics is taught.