ID:
508554
Duration (hours):
36
CFU:
6
SSD:
GLOTTOLOGIA E LINGUISTICA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Secondo Semestre (23/02/2026 - 05/06/2026)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
This course aims at developing knowledge and understanding in several key areas of pragmatics by focusing on psycho- and neurolinguistic studies applied to the pragmatic aspects of the communicative competence:
a) advanced knowledge of theoretical models and interpretation in the area of communication and neuropragmatics. Specifically, the course aims at offering knowledge about the processes at stake in human communication, their neural basis, and their disruption in pathological conditions;
b) development of critical thinking, analytical, and synthetic reasoning skills in the area of communication and neuropragmatics.
Furthermore, the course aims to cultivate the ability to apply this knowledge and understanding effectively by advancing students’ ability to:
- perform and evaluate applications in the area of pragmatics and neuro-pragmatics, via different methodological approaches from classic neuropsychological testing to EEG and natural language processing;
- apply the ethical code associated with the relevant fields related to pragmatic abilities.
After completing this course, the student will be able to:
- recognize the main pragmatic processes, such as conversational rules and inferring of implicit meanings;
- describe the cognitive architecture of pragmatics, especially the relation with the faculty of language and with theory of mind;
- know the neural correlates of pragmatic processes, as they emerge from neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies;
- know the main symptoms of pragmatic language disorder and the most affected conditions;
- be familiar with the main experimental tasks, neuropsychological tests, and computational approaches to assess pragmatic competence.
a) advanced knowledge of theoretical models and interpretation in the area of communication and neuropragmatics. Specifically, the course aims at offering knowledge about the processes at stake in human communication, their neural basis, and their disruption in pathological conditions;
b) development of critical thinking, analytical, and synthetic reasoning skills in the area of communication and neuropragmatics.
Furthermore, the course aims to cultivate the ability to apply this knowledge and understanding effectively by advancing students’ ability to:
- perform and evaluate applications in the area of pragmatics and neuro-pragmatics, via different methodological approaches from classic neuropsychological testing to EEG and natural language processing;
- apply the ethical code associated with the relevant fields related to pragmatic abilities.
After completing this course, the student will be able to:
- recognize the main pragmatic processes, such as conversational rules and inferring of implicit meanings;
- describe the cognitive architecture of pragmatics, especially the relation with the faculty of language and with theory of mind;
- know the neural correlates of pragmatic processes, as they emerge from neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies;
- know the main symptoms of pragmatic language disorder and the most affected conditions;
- be familiar with the main experimental tasks, neuropsychological tests, and computational approaches to assess pragmatic competence.
Course Prerequisites
No specific requirements
Teaching Methods
This course will adopt a variety of learning methods, by blending traditional lectures with experiential learning activities and incorporating group discussions, case-based analyses, and practical exercises.
Assessment Methods
The exam will be an oral assessment on a scale of 30 points.
During the exam, the student will be assessed on the extent to which they have achieved the learning objectives and how well they have integrated the knowledge acquired in the course. The exam will cover at least three distinct topics related to different domains of pragmatics. The evaluation will also be based on the student’s ability to communicate effectively and their use of appropriate scientific language.
During the exam, the student will be assessed on the extent to which they have achieved the learning objectives and how well they have integrated the knowledge acquired in the course. The exam will cover at least three distinct topics related to different domains of pragmatics. The evaluation will also be based on the student’s ability to communicate effectively and their use of appropriate scientific language.
Texts
• Bambini V. (2012) Neurolinguistics. In J-O. Östman & J. Verschueren (Eds.), Handbook of Pragmatics (pp. 987-1013). John Benjamins.
• Bischetti, L., Frau. F., & Bambini, V., (2024). Neuropragmatics. In M. J: Ball, N. Müller, & E. Spencer (Eds.), The Handbook of Clinical Linguistics, 2nd Edition (pp. 41-54). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119875949.ch4
• Canal, P. & Bambini, V. (2023). Pragmatics Electrified. In M. Grimaldi, Y. Shtyrov, & E. Brattico (Eds.), Language Electrified. Techniques, Methods, Applications, and Future Perspectives in the Neurophysiological Investigation of Language (pp. 583-612), Humana. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3263-5_18
• Cummings, L. (2017) Clinical pragmatics. In G. Yueguo, A. Barron, & G. Steen (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Pragmatics (pp. 419-432), Routledge.
• Lenci, A., & Sahlgren, M. (2023). From usage to meaning: the foundations of distributional semantics. In Distributional Semantics (pp. 3-24). Cambridge University Press
• Further material will be presented during the class.
• Bischetti, L., Frau. F., & Bambini, V., (2024). Neuropragmatics. In M. J: Ball, N. Müller, & E. Spencer (Eds.), The Handbook of Clinical Linguistics, 2nd Edition (pp. 41-54). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119875949.ch4
• Canal, P. & Bambini, V. (2023). Pragmatics Electrified. In M. Grimaldi, Y. Shtyrov, & E. Brattico (Eds.), Language Electrified. Techniques, Methods, Applications, and Future Perspectives in the Neurophysiological Investigation of Language (pp. 583-612), Humana. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3263-5_18
• Cummings, L. (2017) Clinical pragmatics. In G. Yueguo, A. Barron, & G. Steen (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Pragmatics (pp. 419-432), Routledge.
• Lenci, A., & Sahlgren, M. (2023). From usage to meaning: the foundations of distributional semantics. In Distributional Semantics (pp. 3-24). Cambridge University Press
• Further material will be presented during the class.
Contents
The course combines notions in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience, with special attention to the emerging fields of experimental pragmatics, clinical pragmatics, and neuropragmatics.
Part of the lessons will be devoted to explain what pragmatic competence means, presenting it with respect to the other language components. Special attention will be paid to the description of the inferential processes that support the understanding of metaphors, humor, irony, and other non-literal expressions.
The core part of the course will deal with the neural correlates of pragmatic competence, describing research with neuroimaging and electrophysiological methods. We will discuss the main brain regions and networks elicited by pragmatic tasks and how the electrophysiological response unfolds during the comprehension of discourse and non-literal meanings. Moreover, the course will also introduce computational linguistic methods, particularly distributional semantics, as tools for investigating discourse and pragmatic phenomena.
The last part of the course will focus on pragmatic language disorder, describing the communicative difficulties that might occur in schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and various neurological conditions. The course will describe the main symptoms of pragmatic language disorder, such as concretism and off-topic speech, as well as the available assessment tools. Moreover, the relation between pragmatics and other cognitive components, such as theory of mind and executive functions, will be discussed
Part of the lessons will be devoted to explain what pragmatic competence means, presenting it with respect to the other language components. Special attention will be paid to the description of the inferential processes that support the understanding of metaphors, humor, irony, and other non-literal expressions.
The core part of the course will deal with the neural correlates of pragmatic competence, describing research with neuroimaging and electrophysiological methods. We will discuss the main brain regions and networks elicited by pragmatic tasks and how the electrophysiological response unfolds during the comprehension of discourse and non-literal meanings. Moreover, the course will also introduce computational linguistic methods, particularly distributional semantics, as tools for investigating discourse and pragmatic phenomena.
The last part of the course will focus on pragmatic language disorder, describing the communicative difficulties that might occur in schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and various neurological conditions. The course will describe the main symptoms of pragmatic language disorder, such as concretism and off-topic speech, as well as the available assessment tools. Moreover, the relation between pragmatics and other cognitive components, such as theory of mind and executive functions, will be discussed
Course Language
English
Degrees
Degrees
PSYCHOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE AND HUMAN SCIENCES
Master’s Degree
2 years
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People
People (3)
Teaching staff
Teaching staff
Teaching staff
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