Semantics, Tense, and Time

Semantics, Tense, and Time PDF Author: Peter Ludlow
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262263474
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
According to Peter Ludlow, there is a very close relation between the structure of natural language and that of reality, and one can gain insights into long-standing metaphysical questions by studying the semantics of natural language. In this book Ludlow uses the metaphysics of time as a case study and focuses on the dispute between A-theorists and B-theorists about the nature of time. According to B-theorists, there is no genuine change, but a permanent sequence of events ordered by an earlier-than/later-than relation. According to the version of the A-theory adopted by Ludlow (a position sometimes called "presentism"), there are no past or future events or times; what makes something past or future is how the world stands right now. Ludlow argues that each metaphysical picture is tied to a particular semantical theory of tense and that the dispute can be adjudicated on semantical grounds. A presentism-compatible semantics, he claims, is superior to a B-theory semantics in a number of respects, including its abilities to handle the indexical nature of temporal discourse and to account for facts about language acquisition. Along the way, Ludlow develops a conception of "E-type" temporal anaphora that can account for both temporal anaphora and complex tenses without reference to past and future events. His view has philosophical consequences for theories of logic, self-knowledge, and memory. As for linguistic consequences, Ludlow suggests that the very idea of grammatical tense may have to be dispensed with and replaced with some combination of aspect, modality, and evidentiality.

Semantics, Tense, and Time

Semantics, Tense, and Time PDF Author: Peter Ludlow
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262263474
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
According to Peter Ludlow, there is a very close relation between the structure of natural language and that of reality, and one can gain insights into long-standing metaphysical questions by studying the semantics of natural language. In this book Ludlow uses the metaphysics of time as a case study and focuses on the dispute between A-theorists and B-theorists about the nature of time. According to B-theorists, there is no genuine change, but a permanent sequence of events ordered by an earlier-than/later-than relation. According to the version of the A-theory adopted by Ludlow (a position sometimes called "presentism"), there are no past or future events or times; what makes something past or future is how the world stands right now. Ludlow argues that each metaphysical picture is tied to a particular semantical theory of tense and that the dispute can be adjudicated on semantical grounds. A presentism-compatible semantics, he claims, is superior to a B-theory semantics in a number of respects, including its abilities to handle the indexical nature of temporal discourse and to account for facts about language acquisition. Along the way, Ludlow develops a conception of "E-type" temporal anaphora that can account for both temporal anaphora and complex tenses without reference to past and future events. His view has philosophical consequences for theories of logic, self-knowledge, and memory. As for linguistic consequences, Ludlow suggests that the very idea of grammatical tense may have to be dispensed with and replaced with some combination of aspect, modality, and evidentiality.

The Cambridge Handbook of Formal Semantics

The Cambridge Handbook of Formal Semantics PDF Author: Maria Aloni
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131655273X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1239

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Book Description
Formal semantics - the scientific study of meaning in natural language - is one of the most fundamental and long-established areas of linguistics. This Handbook offers a comprehensive, yet compact guide to the field, bringing together research from a wide range of world-leading experts. Chapters include coverage of the historical context and foundation of contemporary formal semantics, a survey of the variety of formal/logical approaches to linguistic meaning and an overview of the major areas of research within current semantic theory, broadly conceived. The Handbook also explores the interfaces between semantics and neighbouring disciplines, including research in cognition and computation. This work will be essential reading for students and researchers working in linguistics, philosophy, psychology and computer science.

Time and Modality

Time and Modality PDF Author: Jacqueline Guéron
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402083548
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
Here is a unique work of reference. Not only does it unite studies which explore the syntax and semantics of tense or modality, but it is the first book of its kind to embrace the interaction of tense and modality within a coherent generative model.

Recent Advances in the Syntax and Semantics of Tense, Aspect and Modality

Recent Advances in the Syntax and Semantics of Tense, Aspect and Modality PDF Author: Louis de Saussure
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 9783110195255
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book is an up-to-date milestone for the studies of temporality and language, in particular regarding syntax and semantics. Tenses, aspectand modality are investigated both at the theoretical and at the descriptive levels, involving many differe

Inquisitive Semantics

Inquisitive Semantics PDF Author: Ivano Ciardelli
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019881478X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. This book presents a new logical framework to capture the meaning of sentences in conversation. The traditional approach equates meaning with truth-conditions: to know the meaning of a sentence is to know under which circumstances it is true. The reason for this is that linguistic and philosophical investigations are usually carried out in a logical framework that was originally designed to characterize valid argumentation. However, argumentation is neither the sole, nor the primary function of language. One task that language more widely and ordinarily fulfils is to enable the exchange of information between conversational participants. In the framework outlined in this volume, inquisitive semantics, information exchange is seen as a process of raising and resolving issues. Inquisitive semantics provides a new formal notion of meaning, which makes it possible to model various concepts that are crucial for the analysis of linguistic information exchange in a more refined and more principled way than has been possible in previous frameworks. Importantly, it also allows an integrated treatment of statements and questions. The first part of the book presents the framework in detail, while the second demonstrates its benefits in the semantic analysis of questions, coordination, modals, conditionals, and intonation. The book will be of interest to researchers and students from advanced undergraduate level upwards in the fields of semantics, pragmatics, philosophy of language, and logic.

The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax

The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax PDF Author: Marcel den Dikken
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107354587
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1412

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Book Description
Syntax – the study of sentence structure – has been at the centre of generative linguistics from its inception and has developed rapidly and in various directions. The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax provides a historical context for what is happening in the field of generative syntax today, a survey of the various generative approaches to syntactic structure available in the literature and an overview of the state of the art in the principal modules of the theory and the interfaces with semantics, phonology, information structure and sentence processing, as well as linguistic variation and language acquisition. This indispensable resource for advanced students, professional linguists (generative and non-generative alike) and scholars in related fields of inquiry presents a comprehensive survey of the field of generative syntactic research in all its variety, written by leading experts and providing a proper sense of the range of syntactic theories calling themselves generative.

Time and the Verb

Time and the Verb PDF Author: Robert I. Binnick
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019506206X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 579

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Book Description
This guide provides the reader with a broad perspective of grammar, from classical Greek and Latin to the latest proposals in formal semantics.

The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect

The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect PDF Author: Robert I. Binnick
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195381971
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 1128

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Book Description
This Handbook is a comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible guide to the topics and theories that current form the front line of research into tense, aspect, and related areas.

Ten Lectures on Applied Cognitive Linguistics

Ten Lectures on Applied Cognitive Linguistics PDF Author: John Taylor
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004347569
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
A series of 10 lectures on various aspects of Cognitive Linguistics as these relate to matters of language teaching and learning. Topics addressed include the role of categorization, the nature of rules, the encyclopaedic scope of semantics, spatial expressions, metaphor and metonymy, nouns and nominals, tense and aspect, and the theoretical status of the phoneme.

Events and Grammar

Events and Grammar PDF Author: Susan Rothstein
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401139695
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
This volume covers a broad spectrum of research into the role of events in grammar. It addresses event arguments and thematic argument structure, the role of events in verbal aspectual distinctions, events and the distinction between stage and individual level predicates, and the role of events in the analysis of plurality and scope relations. It is of interest to scholars and students of theoretical linguistics, philosophers of language, computational linguists, and computer scientists.