1352.18 - Language Usage and Argumentation (BA)

1352.18

Language Usage and Argumentation (BA)

10

Students must have completed the required core component of the BA in Faroese. This course can also be taken as an individual course with other prerequisites (please refer to the academic programme in force).

To provide students with insight into and the skills to evaluate, analyse and describe language usage and register at different levels and in different fields and to provide the students with tools to analyse and evaluate the validity in formal and informal argumentation.

Based on relevant theories about language usage and argumentation a selection of oral and written texts will be analysed using different academic approaches, e.g. political jargon, sports jargon, scientific jargon, media jargon, school textbooks, etc. We meet arguments and argumentation written and spoken in political debates, debates on ethical issues and in scientific articles of all sorts. But how do we decide whether the arguments hold and/or are valid? Political debates, debates on ethical issues and scientific articles will be analysed in order to describe how we decide whether the arguments hold and/or are valid.

Lectures and presentations

Successful students can demonstrate: • theoretical knowledge about language usage and argumentation and how it is analysed • ability to evaluate and adapt language for different usage depending on the receiver and the context • to analyse and evaluate the validity of argumentation in written texts and orally • ability to relate analysed texts to the theory covered • ability to reflect on and assess language usage theory • ability to use the terminology specific to the field • ability to identify fallacies and to analyse syllogisms

Six-hour written examination. The following study aids are allowed in the examination room: Faroese dictionaries, material from the reading list and other material used on the course.

External

Wenche Vagle, Margareth Sandvik og Jan Svennevig. 2004. Tekst og kontekst. En innføring i tekstlingvistikk og pragmatikk. J.W Cappelens forlag. Copi, Irving M., Carl Cohen og Kenneth McMahon. 2014. Introduction to logic. Pearson Prentice Hall. Ib Ulbæk. 2005. Sproglig tekstanalyse – introduktion til pragmatisk tekstlingvistik. Hans Reitzels forlag. Henrik Møller. 2002. Grundbog i tekstlingvistik. Dansklærerforeningen. Yan Huang. 2007. Pragmatics. Oxford University Press. Anna Maria Lassen. 2012. Sprog i brug – sproghandlinger og kommunikation. Systime. In addition academic papers and examples of language usage. The required reading amounts to 500 pages of language usage theory along with a suitable volume of sample text.

Zakaris Svabo Hansen