“What is the lexicon?”, What is a “word?”, “How are words and their meanings represented in the brain or mental lexicon?”, “How is lexical knowledge acquired?”, and “What is the relation between culture and lexicon?” Questions like these will be studied, applying different empirical methods, and taking a comparative perspective where possible (starting with Dutch and English but also with attention for other European languages and other language families).
Specific topics of this course include the meaning of derivational morphemes and complex words, semantic fields, linguistic relativity, and lexical universals.

LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

Early Exit option for international exchange students (5 ECTS)
 
Exchange students who are required to return to their home university before January, are allowed to choose an Early Exit option for this course. The Early Exit option means that students can finish the course before Christmas break, receiving 5 ECTS for the course. Students must make arrangements with the course coordinator at the start of the course.

Lingua Receptiva (Luistertaal)
This course can be followed in Lingua Receptiva. This course is offered in English. The course is also open to students who only have a receptive understanding of this language (as lingua receptiva). If required, these students can participate in Dutch and take the exam and write assignments in that language. If you want to make use of lingua receptiva, please contact the teacher after enrolment. Please note: if you make use of lingua receptiva, this course will be registered as one of the elective modules of your programme. In this case, the course cannot count as a language-specific course within the major or minor part of your programme.