Emma Borg
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588374
- eISBN:
- 9780191741487
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588374.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind
This book examines some recent answers to the questions of how and where to draw the divide between semantics (roughly, features of the literal meaning of linguistic items) and pragmatics (roughly, ...
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This book examines some recent answers to the questions of how and where to draw the divide between semantics (roughly, features of the literal meaning of linguistic items) and pragmatics (roughly, features emerging from the context within which such items are being used). In particular, the book defends what is commonly known as ‘minimal semantics’ (aka ‘semantic invariantism’ or ‘insensitive semantics’). Minimal semantics, as the name suggests, offers a pretty minimal account of the inter-relation between semantics and pragmatics. Specifically, it holds that while context can affect literal semantic content in the case of genuine (i.e. lexically or syntactically marked) context-sensitive items (e.g. indexicals, demonstratives, tense markers), this is the extent of pragmatic influence within the semantic realm. Minimalism, then, prohibits what are here called ‘free pragmatic effects’: putative effects on semantic content which are not required by any lexico‐syntactic item in a sentence. The book opens with an exploration of the current positions in this debate, introducing the main approaches of minimalism, indexicalism, contextualism, relativism, and occasionalism and offers some initial reasons for being concerned about many of the positions opposing minimalism. The main arguments against minimalism are then explored, looking at the argument that minimal contents are explanatorily irrelevant, the argument that at least some sentences fail to express minimal contents, and the argument that the kinds of word meanings which minimalism requires are either impossible or explanatorily inadequate. The ultimate conclusion of the book is that none of these arguments are compelling and that minimalism in fact provides an attractive and plausible account of the literal meanings of natural language sentences.Less
This book examines some recent answers to the questions of how and where to draw the divide between semantics (roughly, features of the literal meaning of linguistic items) and pragmatics (roughly, features emerging from the context within which such items are being used). In particular, the book defends what is commonly known as ‘minimal semantics’ (aka ‘semantic invariantism’ or ‘insensitive semantics’). Minimal semantics, as the name suggests, offers a pretty minimal account of the inter-relation between semantics and pragmatics. Specifically, it holds that while context can affect literal semantic content in the case of genuine (i.e. lexically or syntactically marked) context-sensitive items (e.g. indexicals, demonstratives, tense markers), this is the extent of pragmatic influence within the semantic realm. Minimalism, then, prohibits what are here called ‘free pragmatic effects’: putative effects on semantic content which are not required by any lexico‐syntactic item in a sentence. The book opens with an exploration of the current positions in this debate, introducing the main approaches of minimalism, indexicalism, contextualism, relativism, and occasionalism and offers some initial reasons for being concerned about many of the positions opposing minimalism. The main arguments against minimalism are then explored, looking at the argument that minimal contents are explanatorily irrelevant, the argument that at least some sentences fail to express minimal contents, and the argument that the kinds of word meanings which minimalism requires are either impossible or explanatorily inadequate. The ultimate conclusion of the book is that none of these arguments are compelling and that minimalism in fact provides an attractive and plausible account of the literal meanings of natural language sentences.
Wayne A. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199261659
- eISBN:
- 9780191603099
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261652.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This chapter defines word meaning in terms of speaker meaning and expression. The definition is recursive: in the basic case, individual words and idioms have meaning because of what they are ...
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This chapter defines word meaning in terms of speaker meaning and expression. The definition is recursive: in the basic case, individual words and idioms have meaning because of what they are conventionally used to mean; the recursion clause (the basis of compositionality) is provided by the fact that word structures are conventionally used to express certain idea structures. Different kinds of language are distinguished. What words mean today in living languages is dependent on the conventions that evolve from those of prior users of the language.Less
This chapter defines word meaning in terms of speaker meaning and expression. The definition is recursive: in the basic case, individual words and idioms have meaning because of what they are conventionally used to mean; the recursion clause (the basis of compositionality) is provided by the fact that word structures are conventionally used to express certain idea structures. Different kinds of language are distinguished. What words mean today in living languages is dependent on the conventions that evolve from those of prior users of the language.
Pieter A. M. Seuren
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199559473
- eISBN:
- 9780191721137
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199559473.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
A new definition is given of sign, sentence meaning, and word meaning. The qualia problem is discussed and all lexical words are considered predicates. A way out is shown for the problem of the ...
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A new definition is given of sign, sentence meaning, and word meaning. The qualia problem is discussed and all lexical words are considered predicates. A way out is shown for the problem of the synonymous circle in the description of lexical meanings. The views of Katz, Fodor, and Pustejovsky are discussed, as is the theory of lexical decomposition. The importance of prototypicality in word meaning is emphasized.Less
A new definition is given of sign, sentence meaning, and word meaning. The qualia problem is discussed and all lexical words are considered predicates. A way out is shown for the problem of the synonymous circle in the description of lexical meanings. The views of Katz, Fodor, and Pustejovsky are discussed, as is the theory of lexical decomposition. The importance of prototypicality in word meaning is emphasized.
Emma Borg
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588374
- eISBN:
- 9780191741487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588374.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter explores the methodological argument against minimal word meanings: namely the claim that any such word meanings are inadequate to carry what is called the ‘internalist’ or ...
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This chapter explores the methodological argument against minimal word meanings: namely the claim that any such word meanings are inadequate to carry what is called the ‘internalist’ or ‘intra-linguistic’ burden on semantics. So, for instance, it might be expected that a semantic theory should explain why certain readings are possible or impossible for sentences, that is should explain the systematic patterns of syntactic transformation which expressions allow, or that it should explain relations such as synonymy, polysemy and analyticity. Yet plausibly explaining all these kinds of things requires a complex account of the meanings of lexical items which goes far beyond a mere list pairing words and denotations. If this is right, then it seems minimal word meanings will be insufficient to underpin the work required of a semantic theory. This chapter explores the intra-linguistic burden and suggests that, perhaps contrary to initial appearances, a properly nuanced referential account of word meaning might be able to bear such a burden. Furthermore, and again perhaps contrary to initial appearances, it is argued that such a nuanced account of word meaning is entirely consistent with the tenets of minimal semantics.Less
This chapter explores the methodological argument against minimal word meanings: namely the claim that any such word meanings are inadequate to carry what is called the ‘internalist’ or ‘intra-linguistic’ burden on semantics. So, for instance, it might be expected that a semantic theory should explain why certain readings are possible or impossible for sentences, that is should explain the systematic patterns of syntactic transformation which expressions allow, or that it should explain relations such as synonymy, polysemy and analyticity. Yet plausibly explaining all these kinds of things requires a complex account of the meanings of lexical items which goes far beyond a mere list pairing words and denotations. If this is right, then it seems minimal word meanings will be insufficient to underpin the work required of a semantic theory. This chapter explores the intra-linguistic burden and suggests that, perhaps contrary to initial appearances, a properly nuanced referential account of word meaning might be able to bear such a burden. Furthermore, and again perhaps contrary to initial appearances, it is argued that such a nuanced account of word meaning is entirely consistent with the tenets of minimal semantics.
Anandi Hattiangadi
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199219025
- eISBN:
- 9780191711879
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199219025.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the purpose of the book, which is to defend semantic realism against Kripke's sceptical attack. According to the semantic realist, to understand ...
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This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the purpose of the book, which is to defend semantic realism against Kripke's sceptical attack. According to the semantic realist, to understand the meaning of a word (mental representation) is to know its correctness conditions, and that to understand the meaning of a sentence is to know its truth conditions. Semantic realism, on this definition, is compatible with a variety of metaphysical theories of which grasp of correctness conditions or truth conditions consist in. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.Less
This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the purpose of the book, which is to defend semantic realism against Kripke's sceptical attack. According to the semantic realist, to understand the meaning of a word (mental representation) is to know its correctness conditions, and that to understand the meaning of a sentence is to know its truth conditions. Semantic realism, on this definition, is compatible with a variety of metaphysical theories of which grasp of correctness conditions or truth conditions consist in. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.
David Kemmerer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195311129
- eISBN:
- 9780199776924
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311129.003.0015
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter demonstrates how recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience can help illuminate the nature of word meaning. The chapter is organized as follows. The first section presents the basic ...
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This chapter demonstrates how recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience can help illuminate the nature of word meaning. The chapter is organized as follows. The first section presents the basic tenets of the Simulation Framework and summarizes three recent behavioral studies that provide evidence for it. The second section then reviews research in cognitive neuroscience that further elaborates and substantiates the Simulation Framework. It begins by describing a neurobiologically-based instantiation of the Simulation Framework called Convergence Zone Theory and then surveys empirical findings from a variety of studies that address the neural correlates of the visual semantic components of words for objects, events, and spatial relations. Next, the third section covers some recent typological work on crosslinguistic variation in the lexicalization of the visual world, and points out several questions that this work poses for cognitive neuroscience. The major topics are as follows: shape classifiers and the count/mass distinction; language-specific semantic maps across the universal conceptual domain of manner-of-motion; and topological vs. projective spatial relations, the latter category being defined in terms of three different frames of reference: intrinsic, relative, and absolute. The fourth section concludes the chapter by highlighting some important general aspects of how the Simulation Framework illuminates the nature of word meaning, while at the same time acknowledging some equally important limitations of this approach.Less
This chapter demonstrates how recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience can help illuminate the nature of word meaning. The chapter is organized as follows. The first section presents the basic tenets of the Simulation Framework and summarizes three recent behavioral studies that provide evidence for it. The second section then reviews research in cognitive neuroscience that further elaborates and substantiates the Simulation Framework. It begins by describing a neurobiologically-based instantiation of the Simulation Framework called Convergence Zone Theory and then surveys empirical findings from a variety of studies that address the neural correlates of the visual semantic components of words for objects, events, and spatial relations. Next, the third section covers some recent typological work on crosslinguistic variation in the lexicalization of the visual world, and points out several questions that this work poses for cognitive neuroscience. The major topics are as follows: shape classifiers and the count/mass distinction; language-specific semantic maps across the universal conceptual domain of manner-of-motion; and topological vs. projective spatial relations, the latter category being defined in terms of three different frames of reference: intrinsic, relative, and absolute. The fourth section concludes the chapter by highlighting some important general aspects of how the Simulation Framework illuminates the nature of word meaning, while at the same time acknowledging some equally important limitations of this approach.
Vyvyan Evans
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199234660
- eISBN:
- 9780191715495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199234660.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter reviews a number of perspectives on word meaning which acknowledge the variability in word meaning described in previous chapters. One of the main difficulties with all of the ...
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This chapter reviews a number of perspectives on word meaning which acknowledge the variability in word meaning described in previous chapters. One of the main difficulties with all of the perspectives reviewed is that they fail to explicitly provide a level of conceptual (i.e., non-linguistic) knowledge representation to which the sense units they posit afford access. The chapter provides an informal illustration of how LCCM Theory overcomes this difficulty.Less
This chapter reviews a number of perspectives on word meaning which acknowledge the variability in word meaning described in previous chapters. One of the main difficulties with all of the perspectives reviewed is that they fail to explicitly provide a level of conceptual (i.e., non-linguistic) knowledge representation to which the sense units they posit afford access. The chapter provides an informal illustration of how LCCM Theory overcomes this difficulty.
Bhargava Rajeev
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242796
- eISBN:
- 9780191680564
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242796.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter discusses the nature of word-meaning. During the course of the discussion, four very important questions arise. The first question is about the true definition of word-meanings, the ...
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This chapter discusses the nature of word-meaning. During the course of the discussion, four very important questions arise. The first question is about the true definition of word-meanings, the second is how word-meanings are properly understood, and the third is about the meaning behind sharing word meanings. The fourth and final question that is posed in this chapter is about how these word meanings relate to what they are meanings of.Less
This chapter discusses the nature of word-meaning. During the course of the discussion, four very important questions arise. The first question is about the true definition of word-meanings, the second is how word-meanings are properly understood, and the third is about the meaning behind sharing word meanings. The fourth and final question that is posed in this chapter is about how these word meanings relate to what they are meanings of.
Eva Feder Kittay
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242468
- eISBN:
- 9780191680472
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242468.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind
This book provides a philosophical theory explicating the cognitive contribution of metaphor. Metaphor effects a transference of meaning, not between two terms, but between two structured domains of ...
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This book provides a philosophical theory explicating the cognitive contribution of metaphor. Metaphor effects a transference of meaning, not between two terms, but between two structured domains of content, or ‘semantic fields’. Semantic fields, construed as necessary to a theory of word-meaning, provide the contrastive and affinitive relations that govern a term’s literal use. In a metaphoric use, these relations are projected into a second domain which is thereby reordered with significant cognitive effects. The book provides a revision and refinement of ‘the semantic theory of metaphor’. Taking into account pragmatic considerations and recent linguistic and psychological studies, the book aims to forge a new understanding of the relation between metaphoric and literal meaning. It illustrates the thesis with sensitive and systematic analyses of metaphors found in literature, philosophy, science, and everyday language.Less
This book provides a philosophical theory explicating the cognitive contribution of metaphor. Metaphor effects a transference of meaning, not between two terms, but between two structured domains of content, or ‘semantic fields’. Semantic fields, construed as necessary to a theory of word-meaning, provide the contrastive and affinitive relations that govern a term’s literal use. In a metaphoric use, these relations are projected into a second domain which is thereby reordered with significant cognitive effects. The book provides a revision and refinement of ‘the semantic theory of metaphor’. Taking into account pragmatic considerations and recent linguistic and psychological studies, the book aims to forge a new understanding of the relation between metaphoric and literal meaning. It illustrates the thesis with sensitive and systematic analyses of metaphors found in literature, philosophy, science, and everyday language.
EVA FEDER KITTAY
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242468
- eISBN:
- 9780191680472
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242468.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter describes semantic field theory and gives valid points for argument for its inclusion within a complete semantics of natural language. Semantic field theory develops, historically and ...
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This chapter describes semantic field theory and gives valid points for argument for its inclusion within a complete semantics of natural language. Semantic field theory develops, historically and conceptually, from the work of Ferdinand de Saussure who put forward the view of language as an interconnected system of signs such that an alteration of any of the elements involved a change in the entire system. The argument set forth in this chapter states that even an act as elementary as ostension requires first, that the language speakers share an understanding of what constitute the salient acoustic differences among the acoustic phenomena, and secondly, that the language speakers share an understanding of what counts as a salient differentiation within the conceptual frame of language.Less
This chapter describes semantic field theory and gives valid points for argument for its inclusion within a complete semantics of natural language. Semantic field theory develops, historically and conceptually, from the work of Ferdinand de Saussure who put forward the view of language as an interconnected system of signs such that an alteration of any of the elements involved a change in the entire system. The argument set forth in this chapter states that even an act as elementary as ostension requires first, that the language speakers share an understanding of what constitute the salient acoustic differences among the acoustic phenomena, and secondly, that the language speakers share an understanding of what counts as a salient differentiation within the conceptual frame of language.
