This volume contains 21 new and original contributions to the study of formal semantics, written by distinguished experts in response to landmark papers in the field. The chapters make the target articles more accessible by providing background, modernizing the notation, providing critical commentary, explaining the afterlife of the proposals, and offering a useful bibliography for further study.
The chapters were commissioned by the series editors to mark the 100th volume in the book series Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy. The target articles are amongst the most widely read and cited papers up to the end of the 20th century, and cover most of the important subfields of formal semantics. The authors are all prominent researchers in the field, making this volume a valuable addition to the literature for researchers, students, and teachers of formal semantics.
Chapter 19 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Author(s): Louise McNally, Zoltán Gendler Szabó
Series: Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy, 100
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 436
City: Cham
Preface
References
Acknowledgments
Contents
Contributors
1 On Abusch's “Sequence of Tense and Temporal de re”
Introduction
An Independent Theory of Tense
The Upper Limit Constraint
Capturing Tense Dependencies
Present-Under-Past
References
2 On Bach's “The Algebra of Events”
The Content of the Paper
Impact of the Paper
Homogeneity
Are Telic Predicates Countable?
References
3 On Barwise and Cooper's “Generalized Quantifiers and Natural Language”
Preliminary Notions: Sections 1–3
Direct Interpretation
Hypothesized Universals
Properties of Dets
B&C's U4
Weak vs Strong NPs
Monotonicity
B&C's U5
B&C's U6
B&C's U7
Duals and Negations
Interim Conclusion
Post B&C
References
4 On Carlson's “A Unified Analysis of the English Bare Plural”
Introduction
Summary
The Puzzle and the Main Claim
Empirical Motivation for a Unified Analysis
The Proposal
Discussion
References
5 On Chierchia's ``Reference to Kinds Across Languages''
Introduction
A Neo-Carlsonian Theory of Variation
Bare Plurals as Kind Terms
Variation Based on Lexical Determiners
Blocking and Ranking
Ranking Recalibrated
The Nominal Mapping Parameter
Definite and Singular Kind Terms
On Covert Type-Shifting
Interpreting Null Determiners
Structural (In)sensitivity
Alternative Approaches
The [-pred, +arg] Setting
Generalized Bare Arguments
No Pluralization
Mass, Kinds, Classifiers
On Singular and Definite Kind Terms
Singularity and Kinds
Definiteness and Kinds
Conclusion
References
6 On Davidson's “The Logical Form of Action Sentences”
*-1.3pc
Implication and Composition
Some Further Evidence and Developments
References
7 On Dowty's ``Thematic Proto-Roles and Argument Selection''
Proto-Roles and the Argument Selection Principle: An Overview
The Proto-Role Properties
Proto-Role Entailments in Argument Realization
Critical Comments
The Proto-Role Entailments
Argument Selection
Impact of the Paper and Subsequent Developments
Summing Up
References
8 On Groenendijk and Stokhof's ``Dynamic Predicate Logic''
Introduction
Farmers, Donkeys, Files, Boxes
Dynamic Worldview
dpl Basics: and
dpl Basics: , →, and (and , Too)
Truth, Entailment, Equivalence
Updating Information States
dpl Updates
Dynamic Differences
Extensions, Amendments, Revisions
Appendix: Some Official Definitions
References
9 On Heim's ``On the Projection Problem for Presuppositions''
Introduction: Heim's Antecedents
Formal Theory of Context Update
Context Change Potentials
Extension to Quantification: Context as Assignment-World Pairs
Accommodation, Global and Local
Accommodation Defined
Justifying Accommodation
Alternative Approaches to Context
Context in Discourse Representation Theory
Schlenker on Local Contexts
Projection Without Lexical Triggering
Contextual Presupposition
Projection and At-Issueness
Final Remarks
References
10 On Jacobson's ``Towards a Variable-Free Semantics''
Reviewing the Standard Account
Variable-Free Semantics
Pronouns
Composition
Stepping Back
Some Empirical Results
Gaps, Pied-Piping, and i-within-i
Functional Gaps and Pronouns
Pointers to Other Work
Some Conceptual Points
Direct Compositionality
Issues with Variables
Some Problems
Generalized Rules
Binding Between Non-coarguments
On Becoming Variable-Free
New Foundations
The Essence of the Standard Theory
Binding
On Applicatives
Conclusion
Appendix: Scope Without Variables
References
11 On Kamp's ``A Theory of Truth and Semantic Representation''
Introduction
Preliminaries
Discourse Representations and Compositionality
Discourse Referents
References
12 On Karttunen's “The Syntax and Semantics of Questions”
Introduction: Questions as Sets of (Instantial) Answers
Instantial vs. Complete Answers
Sets of Answers and Answerhood Conditions
From LFs to Sets of Answers
From Declarative to Question Semantics: Proto-Questions
Wh-Questions
From Existential to Wh-Quantifiers: Dispensing with WHQ
Polar Questions
Alternative Questions
Whether and Presuppositions
Embedding Questions
Exhaustivity and De Dicto
Final Remarks
References
13 On Kratzer's “The Notional Category of Modality”
Modality in the Kratzer Framework
Premise Semantics for Modality
Modal Bases and Ordering Sources
Adverbial Phrases and Modal Flavor
Conversational Backgrounds
Dispositional Modality as Pure Circumstantial Modality
Hydrangeas and Circumstantial vs. Epistemic Modality
References
14 On Krifka's ``Nominal Reference, Temporal Constitution and Quantification in Event Semantics''
An Overview
Main Issues and Challenges
Theoretical Prerequisites: Lattices and Measure Functions
Temporal Constitution of Complex Verbal Predicates: Aspectual Composition
Critical Comments
Quantization and the Grammatical Count Property
Non-quantized Incremental Themes in Quantized Predications
Quantized Incremental Themes in Cumulative Predications
Perfective Semantics Reduced to Quantization
Impact and Most Important Subsequent Developments
Appendix
Bibliography
15 On Ladusaw's “On the Notion Affective in the Analysis of Negative-Polarity Items”
Introduction
The Scene
The Main Results
Questions and New Directions
The Licensing Properties of Non-Monotone Quantifiers
Expressions That May Not Be Downward Entailing as Claimed
Only
Definite Descriptions
NPIs in Questions
Why Downward Entailment?
References
16 On Lewis's ``Adverbs of Quantification''
Introduction
Logical Forms for AQs
Semantics of the LF
Dynamic Case Quantification
Syntactic Splitting
More on Restrictive if-clauses
References
17 On Link's ``The Logical Analysis of Plurals and Mass Terms: A Lattice-theoretical Approach''
Introduction
Overview of the Paper
Subsequent Work on Issues Discussed by Link
The Count/Mass Distinction
Distributivity
Plurals
Group Nouns and Collectivity
Conjunction and Hydras
Extensions to Cross-Domain Generalizations
Plural Discourse Reference
Experimental Work on Distributivity
Conclusion
References
18 On Montague's “The Proper Treatment of Quantification in Ordinary English”
Theoretical Aspects: The Framework
Compositionality: The Algebra of Constructions
Frege's Functionality, California Style: Extensions and Intensions
A Touch of Structuralism: Model Theory
The Hierarchy of Extensions: Functional Types
Translating into IL: Indirect Interpretation
Descriptive Aspects: The Fragment
Extensional Constructions
Binding and Scoping
Intensionality
Infinitival Complements
Intensional Transitive Verbs
Adverbial Modification
The Temperature Paradox
References
19 On Partee's ``Noun Phrase Interpretation and Type-Shifting Principles''
Quantificational and Predicative NPs in PTQ
Partee's Type-Shifting Strategy
Critical Comments
Influence on Further Work
References
20 On Stalnaker's ``Indicative Conditionals''
The Core Puzzle
Background
The Puzzle
Stalnaker's Solution
Introducing Reasonable Inference
Context
Commitment and Context Acceptance
Assertibility
The Reasonable Inference Test
Stalnaker's Explanation at a Glance
Inside Stalnaker's Box
Interlude: Indicative vs. Subjunctive Conditionals
On the Intransitivity of Reasonable Inference
On Fatalism
Appendix
References
21 On von Stechow's ``Comparing Semantic Theoriesof Comparison''
Introduction
The Main Results
A Theory for Comparatives
Evaluation
Movement or Double Indexing?
Uniqueness or Maximality?
What Is Wrong with Delineations?
Critical Comments
Binding Issues
Ellipsis
Questions of Compositionality
Logical and Other Operators
Impact
Alternative Proposals
Additional Phenomena
Further Issues
Conclusion
References
Index
