Modern Semantics 2500-EN-CS-L-02

The objective of the course is to present compositional semantics of natural languages such as English or Polish – methods of combining meanings of words and larger syntactic units into meanings of sentences.
The main bulk of the seminar will be devoted to logic-based methods of constructing meanings, methods based on first order logic (some familiarity with logic is assumed but it will also be reviewed) and on typed lambda calculus (to be introduced). The backbone for meaning composition is a syntactic structure – we will broadly follow the kind of syntactic structures assumed within generative grammar, i.e., syntactic trees. After covering the basics, we will look at particular constructions, including various argument structures, modifiers, generalised quantifiers, relative clauses, definite nominal phrases, etc. We will also discuss how the methods of meaning construction introduced in this course satisfy the principle of compositionality, usually attributed to Gottlob Frege. The students will have the opportunity to apply in practice the theoretical mechanisms introduced in this course. To this end, we will use the “Lambda Calculator” tool, which makes such application easy and maybe even fun.

Prerequisites (description)

Students should be familiar with the basics of set theory, propositional logic and predicate (‘first order’) logic at the level of chapters 2–4 of the course textbook, available here: https://eecoppock.info/bootcamp/semantics-boot-camp.pdf. (We will quickly go through these chapters, but students without sufficient previous exposure to logic may need to study them more carefully.)

Learning outcomes

As a result of the course, students will get to know:
– the basics of the generative approach to the syntax–semantics interface (K_W01)
– the lambda calculus and its role in semantic compositionality (K_W04)
– the mechanisms of semantic compositionality as understood in contemporary linguistics and cognitive science (K_W05, K_U03)

Students will also learn in practice how to:
– represent meanings of natural language sentence in the language of logic (K_U08, K_U09)
– derive such meaning representations from meanings of particular words (K_U08, K_U09, K_U10)

Because of the interactive and logic-based nature of the course, students will also enhance their ability to:
– use the English language proficiently (K_U13)
– concisely articulate arguments concerning abstract and formal issues, and evaluate arguments of others (K_U14)
– identify potential methodological errors and gaps in both scientific and public argumentation (K_K01)

Assessment criteria

Assessment methods: Formal assessment will be made on the basis of homeworks and classtests.

Components of the final grade and their weights: There will be 2 classtest, in the case of each at leat 50% of points should be obtained. The average of these two results will be the basis for grading, as detailed below.

However, this basic grade may be raised (up to ½ grade, e.g., from 4+ to 5) based on class activity or particularly interesting solutions of homework exercises. On the other hand, the final mark will be lowered in the case of failed or not returned homeworks (½ of grade for each missing or failed homework, e.g., from 5 to 4+ or from 3 to fail, as there is no 2+). Homeworks will in general be rather simple – they will often be the exercises set in the textbook. Some of them may use the “Lambda Calculator” tool, which provides immediate feedback to students.

Grading scale: The average of the results of the two classtests will be the basis of grading:

< 55% – fail
< 64% – 3
< 72% – 3+
< 79% – 4
< 88% – 4+
< 95% – 5
>= 95% – 5!

These marks may be adjusted depending on activity and, especially, on homeworks, as detailed above.

Requirements for retaking the assessment: If less than 50% is obtained at a classtest, it must be retaken. (If more, it may be retaken, but the new result replaces the previous one, regardless of whether it is higher or lower.)

Exams in the exam session: No formal exam is planned, but it may be necessary to schedule retaking the second classtest during the exam session.

Attendance is required but will not be formally enforced. Regardless of this formal requirement, attendance is of crucial importance in practice, as we will be solving in the class the kinds of problems that will subsequently appear in classtests.

Bibliography

The course follows the (perennially!) forthcoming textbook “Invitation to Formal Semantics” by Liz Coppock and Lucas Champollion, which in turn is largely consistent with the classical 1998 textbook “Semantics in Generative Grammar” by Irene Heim and Angelika Kratzer. The course aims to cover almost all of the textbook, with the possible exception of a couple of chapters. This year, we will be using the version of August 13, 2025, available here: https://eecoppock.info/bootcamp/semantics-boot-camp.pdf. (It is also available from the course space on the KAMPUS platform.)

Notes

Term 2026Z:

Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the basics of set theory, propositional logic and predicate (‘first order’) logic at the level of chapters 2–4 of the course textbook, available here: https://eecoppock.info/bootcamp/semantics-boot-camp.pdf. (We will quickly go through these chapters, but students without sufficient previous exposure to logic may need to study them more carefully.)

Academic honesty
Students must respect the principles of academic integrity. Cheating and plagiarism (including copying work from other students, internet or other sources) are serious violations that are punishable and instructors are required to report all cases to the administration.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, students are not allowed to use AI tools (such as ChatGPT or other generative systems) when doing their homeworks.