Semantics (Macmillan Modern Linguistics)

"This introductory textbook assumes no prior knowledge and covers a wide range of core topics in formal semantics. Now thoroughly updated, the second edition features new chapters on semantic composition, type theory and the lambda calculus, as well as a revised discussion of Pragmatics and a variety of new exercises"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 11 Preface to the First Edition 12 Preface to the Second Edition 13 1 Introduction 16 1.1 Semantics and pragmatics 16 1.2 Kinds of meaning 17 1.2.1 Denotation and Sense 17 1.2.2 Lexical and structural meaning 18 1.2.3 Categorematic and syncategorematic expressions 20 1.3 Truth-conditional theories of meaning 21 1.3.1 Denotations 21 1.3.2 Possible worlds, extension and intension 23 1.3.3 Truth conditions 23 1.3.4 Truth-based relations between statements 26 1.4 Implicature 27 1.4.1 The Principle of Relevance 28 1.4.2 The Principle of Informativeness 28 1.5 Other contextual factors: indexicality and anaphors 31 1.6 Presupposition 32 Exercises 35 Further Reading 38 2 Basic Logical Tools 39 2.1 Representations for meanings 39 2.2 The logical connectives 40 2.2.1 Conjunction 40 2.2.2 Negation 42 2.2.3 Disjunction 43 2.2.4 The material implication connective 44 2.2.5 The biconditional connective 46 2.3 Predicates and arguments 47 2.3.1 Predicates, verbs and the number of arguments 50 2.3.2 Sentences as arguments 53 2.3.3 Path arguments 54 Exercises 55 Further Reading 59 3 The Logical Quantifiers 60 3.1 The universal quantifier 60 3.2 The existential quantifier 62 3.3 Intersective and non-intersective adjectives 63 3.4 The logical quantifiers are interdefinable 64 3.5 Scope and scopal ambiguity 65 3.5.1 Scope and tree diagrams 65 3.5.2 Scopal ambiguity 68 Exercises 70 Further Reading 71 4 Formal Composition 72 4.1 Types 72 4.2 Functions 72 4.3 Types of function 73 4.4 Lambda abstraction 77 4.5 Some general rules for semantic composition 81 4.6 Predicate variables 85 Summary of rules and definitions 89 Exercises 90 Further Reading 93 5 Modality and Possible Worlds 94 5.1 Kinds of modality 94 5.1.1 Logical modality 94 5.1.2 Epistemic modality 95 5.1.3 Deontic modality 97 5.2 Modality and possible worlds 97 5.2.1 Logical modality and possible worlds 98 5.2.2 Epistemic modality and possible worlds 98 5.2.3 Deontic modality and possible worlds 99 5.2.4 Interdefinability with negation 100 5.3 Counterfactuals 103 Exercises 107 Further Reading 108 6 Generalized Quantifiers 109 6.1 Quantification beyond first order logic 109 6.2 Generalized Quantifier Theory 111 6.3 Different types of quantifier determiner 114 6.3.1 Group 1 and Group 2 determiners 114 6.3.2 The ambiguity of few and many 115 6.3.3 Few and a few 117 6.3.4 Some and several 118 6.4 Restricted quantifier notation 118 6.5 Scopal ambiguity 120 6.6 Proportional determiners and discourse familiarity 121 6.7 Strong and weak determiners and there BE sentences 122 6.7.1 The definiteness effect 122 6.7.2 Types of there BE sentence 123 6.8 Determiner the and definite descriptions 126 6.8.1 Russell's Theory of Descriptions 127 6.8.2 The as a generalized quantifier 128 6.8.3 Definite descriptions as strong NPs 129 Familiarity effects 129 Definite descriptions in there BE contexts 132 Definite descriptions and scopal ambiguity 132 6.9 Quantifiers and negative polarity items 133 6.10 Generalized quantifiers as lambda functions 136 Exercises 143 Further Reading 148 7 Referential Opacity 149 7.1 Quine's referential opacity 149 7.2 Modality, descriptions and names 153 7.2.1 Modality and names 153 7.2.2 Modality and descriptions 154 7.3 Propositional attitudes and descriptions 156 7.4 Summary: descriptions and scope 159 7.5 Propositional attitudes and names 159 7.6 De re and de dicto readings with other quantifiers 163 7.7 Indefinite descriptions and specificity 164 Exercises 167 Further Reading 170 8 Aktionsarten: Aspectual Classes of Events 171 8.1 Vendler's four aspectual classes 172 8.2 Diagnostic tests for aktionsarten 174 8.2.1 In adverbials 174 8.2.2 The take time construction 176 8.2.3 For adverbials 177 8.2.4 The sub-interval property 178 8.2.5 Entailments of the progressive 179 8.2.6 Duration and the progressive 180 8.3 Telicity and boundedness 181 8.4 Semelfactive predicates 181 8.5 Aktionsarten and agentivity 183 8.6 Nominal and verbal aspect 186 8.7 Closing comment 187 Exercises 188 Further Reading 190 9 Tense and Aspect 191 9.1 Introduction 191 9.2 The English verb group 191 9.3 Interpretations of present, past, progressive and perfect 193 9.3.1 Interpretations of the present tense 193 9.3.2 Interpretations of the past tense 195 9.3.3 Other forms for future and habitual 195 9.3.4 Interpretations of the progressive 196 9.3.5 Interpretations of the present perfect 197 Present time adverbials 197 Current result states 197 'Hot news' perfect 198 Continuing state 199 9.4 Tense as an operator 200 9.5 Tense and reference to times 202 9.6 Reichenbach's analysis of tense 204 9.7 Reference to times in a narrative 207 9.7.1 Reference time movement 209 9.7.2 State/progressive includes reference time: reference time includes bounded event 211 9.7.3 Is r the same as Reichenbach's R? 211 9.7.4 General principles for temporal interpretation in narrative 212 9.7.5 Adding tense 213 9.8 Closing comment 215 Exercises 215 Further Reading 220 10 Thematic Roles and Lexical Conceptual Structure 221 10.1 Introduction 221 10.2 Traditional thematic roles 221 10.2.1 Agent/Actor and Patient 222 10.2.2 Localist roles 224 10.2.3 Recipient and benefactive 226 10.2.4 Experiencer and stimulus 227 10.2.5 Do adjuncts have thematic roles? 228 10.2.6 Themes and Patients 230 10.2.7 Summary 230 10.3 More detailed analysis of thematic roles 232 10.4 Lexical conceptual structure and thematic roles 236 10.4.1 The action tier 236 10.4.2 Theme, goal and location 238 10.4.3 Experiencer and stimulus 238 10.4.4 Motion event roles 239 10.4.5 Recipient and benefactive 242 10.4.6 Summary of theta roles in LCS 244 10.5 Verb classes and LCS 244 10.6 Closing comment 248 Summary of LCS symbols and definitions with selected examples 248 Exercises 251 Further Reading 254 11 Events 256 11.1 Davidson's analysis of action sentences 256 11.2 Neodavidsonian developments 261 11.2.1 Separation of direct arguments 261 11.2.2 Relations to events 263 11.2.3 The adicity of verbal predicates 264 11.3 Events and perception verbs 265 11.4 Adding tense and NP quantifiers 267 Exercises 268 Further Reading 271 Bibliography 272 Index 280 Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 11 Preface to the First Edition......Page 12 Preface to the Second Edition......Page 13 1.1 Semantics and pragmatics......Page 16 1.2.1 Denotation and Sense......Page 17 1.2.2 Lexical and structural meaning......Page 18 1.2.3 Categorematic and syncategorematic expressions......Page 20 1.3.1 Denotations......Page 21 1.3.3 Truth conditions......Page 23 1.3.4 Truth-based relations between statements......Page 26 1.4 Implicature......Page 27 1.4.2 The Principle of Informativeness......Page 28 1.5 Other contextual factors: indexicality and anaphors......Page 31 1.6 Presupposition......Page 32 Exercises......Page 35 Further Reading......Page 38 2.1 Representations for meanings......Page 39 2.2.1 Conjunction......Page 40 2.2.2 Negation......Page 42 2.2.3 Disjunction......Page 43 2.2.4 The material implication connective......Page 44 2.2.5 The biconditional connective......Page 46 2.3 Predicates and arguments......Page 47 2.3.1 Predicates, verbs and the number of arguments......Page 50 2.3.2 Sentences as arguments......Page 53 2.3.3 Path arguments......Page 54 Exercises......Page 55 Further Reading......Page 59 3.1 The universal quantifier......Page 60 3.2 The existential quantifier......Page 62 3.3 Intersective and non-intersective adjectives......Page 63 3.4 The logical quantifiers are interdefinable......Page 64 3.5.1 Scope and tree diagrams......Page 65 3.5.2 Scopal ambiguity......Page 68 Exercises......Page 70 Further Reading......Page 71 4.2 Functions......Page 72 4.3 Types of function......Page 73 4.4 Lambda abstraction......Page 77 4.5 Some general rules for semantic composition......Page 81 4.6 Predicate variables......Page 85 Summary of rules and definitions......Page 89 Exercises......Page 90 Further Reading......Page 93 5.1.1 Logical modality......Page 94 5.1.2 Epistemic modality......Page 95 5.2 Modality and possible worlds......Page 97 5.2.2 Epistemic modality and possible worlds......Page 98 5.2.3 Deontic modality and possible worlds......Page 99 5.2.4 Interdefinability with negation......Page 100 5.3 Counterfactuals......Page 103 Exercises......Page 107 Further Reading......Page 108 6.1 Quantification beyond first order logic......Page 109 6.2 Generalized Quantifier Theory......Page 111 6.3.1 Group 1 and Group 2 determiners......Page 114 6.3.2 The ambiguity of few and many......Page 115 6.3.3 Few and a few......Page 117 6.4 Restricted quantifier notation......Page 118 6.5 Scopal ambiguity......Page 120 6.6 Proportional determiners and discourse familiarity......Page 121 6.7.1 The definiteness effect......Page 122 6.7.2 Types of there BE sentence......Page 123 6.8 Determiner the and definite descriptions......Page 126 6.8.1 Russell's Theory of Descriptions......Page 127 6.8.2 The as a generalized quantifier......Page 128 Familiarity effects......Page 129 Definite descriptions and scopal ambiguity......Page 132 6.9 Quantifiers and negative polarity items......Page 133 6.10 Generalized quantifiers as lambda functions......Page 136 Exercises......Page 143 Further Reading......Page 148 7.1 Quine's referential opacity......Page 149 7.2.1 Modality and names......Page 153 7.2.2 Modality and descriptions......Page 154 7.3 Propositional attitudes and descriptions......Page 156 7.5 Propositional attitudes and names......Page 159 7.6 De re and de dicto readings with other quantifiers......Page 163 7.7 Indefinite descriptions and specificity......Page 164 Exercises......Page 167 Further Reading......Page 170 8 Aktionsarten: Aspectual Classes of Events......Page 171 8.1 Vendler's four aspectual classes......Page 172 8.2.1 In adverbials......Page 174 8.2.2 The take time construction......Page 176 8.2.3 For adverbials......Page 177 8.2.4 The sub-interval property......Page 178 8.2.5 Entailments of the progressive......Page 179 8.2.6 Duration and the progressive......Page 180 8.4 Semelfactive predicates......Page 181 8.5 Aktionsarten and agentivity......Page 183 8.6 Nominal and verbal aspect......Page 186 8.7 Closing comment......Page 187 Exercises......Page 188 Further Reading......Page 190 9.2 The English verb group......Page 191 9.3.1 Interpretations of the present tense......Page 193 9.3.3 Other forms for future and habitual......Page 195 9.3.4 Interpretations of the progressive......Page 196 Current result states......Page 197 'Hot news' perfect......Page 198 Continuing state......Page 199 9.4 Tense as an operator......Page 200 9.5 Tense and reference to times......Page 202 9.6 Reichenbach's analysis of tense......Page 204 9.7 Reference to times in a narrative......Page 207 9.7.1 Reference time movement......Page 209 9.7.3 Is r the same as Reichenbach's R?......Page 211 9.7.4 General principles for temporal interpretation in narrative......Page 212 9.7.5 Adding tense......Page 213 Exercises......Page 215 Further Reading......Page 220 10.2 Traditional thematic roles......Page 221 10.2.1 Agent/Actor and Patient......Page 222 10.2.2 Localist roles......Page 224 10.2.3 Recipient and benefactive......Page 226 10.2.4 Experiencer and stimulus......Page 227 10.2.5 Do adjuncts have thematic roles?......Page 228 10.2.7 Summary......Page 230 10.3 More detailed analysis of thematic roles......Page 232 10.4.1 The action tier......Page 236 10.4.3 Experiencer and stimulus......Page 238 10.4.4 Motion event roles......Page 239 10.4.5 Recipient and benefactive......Page 242 10.5 Verb classes and LCS......Page 244 Summary of LCS symbols and definitions with selected examples......Page 248 Exercises......Page 251 Further Reading......Page 254 11.1 Davidson's analysis of action sentences......Page 256 11.2.1 Separation of direct arguments......Page 261 11.2.2 Relations to events......Page 263 11.2.3 The adicity of verbal predicates......Page 264 11.3 Events and perception verbs......Page 265 11.4 Adding tense and NP quantifiers......Page 267 Exercises......Page 268 Further Reading......Page 271 Bibliography......Page 272 Index......Page 280 Assuming no prior experience, this core textbook introduces formal semantics in an accessible and engaging way and provides students with a solid understanding of a range of semantic phenomena. It explores a wealth of topics, including generalized quantifier theory, referential opacity, aktionsarten, thematic roles and lexical conceptual structure, tense and aspect and event semantics. Chapters are illustrated with numerous examples to contextualise the theory, and practical exercises encourage students to engage with the text and develop their problem-solving skills. This is an essential text for undergraduates and postgraduates involved in the study of semantics. It is an ideal text for a wide range of modules on the philosophy of language, linguistic meaning and formal semantics. New to this Edition: - Fully revised and updated, with new material on type theory, the lambda calculus, semantic composition, reference to times in a narrative and discourse representation theory - Exercises now graded according to level of difficulty, from beginner to very advanced level The main aim of the book is to provide a good understanding of a range of semantic phenomena and issues in semantics, adopting a truth-conditional account of meaning, but without using a compositional formalism. The book assumes no particular background in linguistics of philosophy, and all the technical tools used are explained as they are introduced. They style is accessible, with numerous examples. Machine generated contents note: Introduction First Order Logic The Logical Quantifiers Formal Composition Modality and Possible Worlds Generalized Quantifiers Referencial Opacity Aktionsarten: Aspectual Classes of Events Tense and Aspect Thematic Roles and Lexical Conceptual Structure Events Bibliography Index.