Words and symbols, as two indispensable kinds of signs created and maintained for human communication, are often the object of profound controversy. To explore how contestable these signs are, we can delve into several essential questions: What is the nature of words/symbols? How do we identify them and prolong their identity (enough for us to recount and argue about the ‘same word’/‘same symbol’)? How do they mean – with reference to an ontological reality, or not at all? Based on the answers to the above, how do we strike a balance between the determinacy of words and symbols needed for stabilization, equality and fairness, correctness, etc., and the indeterminacy of these signs for creativity and the freedom to express oneself?

These are questions we will address and rethink over and over again as we dive into the multitude of discourses in which we find something about words or symbols disputable – discourses such as law, science, gender, race, linguistics, digital communication, etc. By analysing such disputes, we will realize that they are merely manifestations of the essential nature of language and communication, and come to reflect on people’s communicative strategies and reflexivity, the sources of authority to which they appeal and the types of identity/power positions they take. At stake in such disputes include but are not limited to people’s freedom of expression, their own voice in society, the control and censorship of the public sphere, the boundary between lay and non-lay discourse, the ownership of symbols and words, and the right to control their origin, use and/or interpretation.

 

Activities	Number of hours
Lectures	24
Tutorials	8
Reading / Self-study	80
Assessment: Essay / Report writing	15
Assessment: Presentation (incl. preparation)	15
Total:	142

 

A 2-hour session every Wednesday, 12 sessions in total – where the last three sessions are designated for in-class presentations.

Weekly 1-hour tutorials start from week 3 and end in week 10. Students will choose their tutorial slots at the start of the course. Tutorial attendance is compulsory.

 

On completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify and describe the ways in which words and symbols are contestable.
2. Understand the personal, socio-cultural, and circumstantial factors that shape disputes over words and symbols.
3. Apply basic research skills and develop an appreciation of the role and status of different kinds of sources (blogs, media reports, discussion forums, historical texts, secondary literature), including referencing and citation conventions.
4. Analyze critically the reflexivity of language, the linguistic arguments, communicative strategies, and ideologies involved in word/symbol disputes.
5. Identify a case study of a word/symbol dispute and analyze its origins, development and the underlying issues at stake.

 

Assessment Method	Details of Assignment	Weighting
Tutorial participation and discussions	Students analyze and discuss cases of word/symbol disputes mentioned in the readings by applying the taught concepts; students collect examples of discussed concepts and bring those examples to their tutorials for discussion.	20%
Group/Solo project	Students present a case study in the form of a project. This may be done individually or in groups. Students will be given guidance as to the relative requirements for different tasks.	40% (Oral presentation 30%; project outline 10%)
Final Paper	An individual task. Students are expected to produce a written work that consists of a short reflection on one of the group project topics and presentations (which cannot be their own), and a longer, research essay on the chosen topic (reflection 500 words max; research essay 1000 words max).	40%

 

The major topics for the course are:

1. The nature of words/symbols/signs;
2. The dynamics between determinacy and indeterminacy in (linguistic) communication;
3. Disputes on the form and meaning of words and symbols;
4. The origin, conduct and resolution of such disputes;
5. The significance of public debates over words and symbols in different discourses.

 

For session 1: Introduction

• Harris, R. (2009). Integrationist notes and papers 2006-2008. Gamlingay: Bright Pen. [Chap. 25 “The integrational conception of the sign” (pp.61-81)]

For session 2: What’s a word? A symbol? A sign?

• Davis, H. G. (2011). Words: an integrational approach. London & New York: Routledge. [Chap. 1 “The orientation of linguistic theory” (pp.1-19)]

For session 3: Unstable words? (In)determinacy in form and meaning

• Harris, R. & Hutton, C. (2014). Definition in theory and practice. London & New York: Bloomsbury. [Chap. 2 “On definition and common usage” (pp.23-24); Chap. 3 “On real definition” (pp.46-48); Chap. 11 “Definition, indeterminacy and reference” (pp. 200-215 or till 223)]

For session 4: Political correctness = linguistic correctness?

• Harris, C. A., Blencowe, N., & Telem, D. A. (2017). What is in a pronoun? Why gender-fair language matters. Annals of Surgery, 266(6), 932-933.
• Harris, R. (2013). Integrational notes and papers 2013. Gamlingay: Bright Pen. [Chap. 50 “Languages and politics” (pp.86-95)]
• Xin, W. (2018, Nov 13). Why western political correctness hasn’t caught on in China. Sixth Tone. https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1003192/why-western-political-correctness-hasnt-caught-on-in-china

For session 5: Taboo words – should they be eradicated?

• Allan, K. (2015). When is a slur not a slur? The use of nigger in ‘Pulp Fiction’. Language Sciences, 52(2015), 187-199.
• Domínguez, P. J. C. (2009). Linguistic interdiction: its status quaestionis and possible future research lines. Language Sciences, 31(2009), 428-466.
• Zhu, M. (2017, Oct 27). All the times people have called me ‘chink’ to my face: a case-by-case history. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/gyjgvx/all-the-times-white-people-have-called-me-chink-to-my-face

For session 6: One does not simply meme

• Duncker, D. (2019). The reflexivity of language and linguistic inquiry. London & New York: Routledge. [Chap. 3 “Linguistic inquiry” (pp.98-105)
• Pettis, B. T. (2022). Know Your Meme and the homogenization of web history. Internet Histories, 6(3), 263-279.
• {Supplementary} Wiggins, B. E. (2019). The discursive power of memes in digital culture. London & New York: Routledge. [Chap. 1 “Dawkins revisited” (pp.1-20)]

For session 7: ‘Urban dictionary it’ – neologisms vs standard lexicography

• Seargeant, P. (2011). Lexicography as a philosophy of language. Language Sciences, 33(2011), 1-10.
• Smith, R. E. (2011). Urban dictionary: youth slanguage and the redefining of definition. English Today, 27(4), 43-48.

For session 8: ‘Just keep adding new Englishes to the mix’ – World Englishes, Hong Kong English

• Davis, H. G. (2002). The language myth and standard English. In Harris, R. (ed.), The language myth in western culture (pp.41-54). London: Curzon.
• Hansen Edwards, J. G. (2016). The politics of language and identity: attitudes towards Hong Kong English pre and post the Umbrella Movement. Asian Englishes, 2331-2548.

For session 9: Non-human words and images?

• Glenburg, A. & Jones, C. R. (2023, Apr 6). It takes a body to understand the world – why ChatGPT and other language AIs don’t know what they’re saying. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-body-to-understand-the-world-why-chatgpt-and-other-language-ais-dont-know-what-theyre-saying-201280
• Harris, R. (1987). The Language Machine. London: Duckworth. [“Introduction”]
• {Supplementary} Harris, R. (1987). The Language Machine. London: Duckworth. [Chap. 4 “The Mechanization of Meaning”]