Dynamics of Meaning

by Chierchia, Gennaro

• ISBN13: 9780226104348
• ISBN10: 0226104346
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

InThe Dynamics of Meaning, Gennaro Chierchia tackles central issues in dynamic semantics and extends the general framework. Chapter 1 introduces the notion of dynamic semantics and discusses in detail the phenomena that have been used to motivate it, such as "donkey" sentences and adverbs of quantification. The second chapter explores in greater depth the interpretation of indefinites and issues related to presuppositions of uniqueness and the "E-type strategy." In Chapter 3, Chierchia extends the dynamic approach to the domain of syntactic theory, considering a range of empirical problems that includes backwards anaphora, reconstruction effects, and weak crossover. The final chapter develops the formal system of dynamic semantics to deal with central issues of definites and presupposition. Chierchia shows that an approach based on a principled enrichment of the mechanisms dealing with meaning is to be preferred on empirical grounds over approaches that depend on an enrichment of the syntactic apparatus. Dynamics of Meaningillustrates how seemingly abstract stances on the nature of meaning can have significant and far-reaching linguistic consequences, leading to the detection of new facts and influencing our understanding of the syntax/semantics/pragmatics interface.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
The Two Souls of Discourse Representation Theory	1	(61)
Introduction	1	(1)
The Empirical Characteristics of ``Donkey Anaphora''	2	(9)
Coordination	2	(2)
If/When-Clauses	4	(2)
Relative Clauses	6	(1)
Accessibility	7	(3)
Summary	10	(1)
``Classical'' Discourse Representation Theory	11	(4)
Uniqueness	15	(5)
Syntactic Background	20	(6)
Weakly Theory-Bound Syntactic Assumptions	20	(4)
The ``Official'' Framework	24	(2)
The First Soul of Discourse Representation Theory	26	(16)
The Construal Component	27	(3)
The Interpretive Component	30	(9)
Semantics via Translation	39	(3)
The Second Soul of Discourse Representation Theory	42	(15)
File Change Semantics	43	(6)
Quantificational Structures in File Change Semantics	49	(3)
Definites in File Change Semantics	52	(5)
Summary	57	(5)
Appendix	58	(4)
Dynamic Binding	62	(67)
Introduction	62	(10)
Two Readings of Donkey Sentences	62	(4)
Proportions and Unselectivity	66	(3)
Discourse Representation Theory and Generalized Quantifiers	69	(3)
The Plan	72	(1)
Extensions of Classical Discourse Representation Theory	72	(6)
A New Set of Construal Rules	73	(3)
Discussion	76	(2)
A New Dynamic Approach	78	(21)
Reviewing Montague's Intentional Logic	78	(3)
The Idea in Informal Terms	81	(3)
The Logic of Context Change	84	(10)
Compositional Logical Forms for English	94	(3)
Dynamic Conservativity	97	(2)
Adverbs of Quantification and Existential Disclosure	99	(11)
Quantification over Events	99	(4)
Topic Selection	103	(4)
Further Developments and Open Issues	107	(3)
∀-Readings: A Preliminary Account	110	(10)
Are Determiners Ambiguous?	111	(2)
The E-Type Strategy Reconsidered	113	(4)
Limits of the E-Type Strategy	117	(3)
Summary and Conclusions	120	(9)
Appendix	122	(5)
Solutions to Selected Exercises	127	(2)
Extensions: Reconstruction, Topicalization, and Crossover	129	(61)
Introduction	129	(4)
Left-Adjoined If/When-Clauses	129	(3)
Right-Adjoined If/When-Clauses	132	(1)
The Proposal	133	(15)
Background	133	(1)
The Logical Form of Tripartite Structures	134	(3)
The Syntax and Semantics of Right-Adjoined If/When-Clauses	137	(6)
Fronted Adjuncts and Principle C	143	(5)
Reconstruction	148	(22)
The Role of Dynamic Binding in a Theory of Reconstruction	151	(2)
On the Syntax of If/When-Clauses	153	(1)
Clefts	153	(1)
CP-Adjoined If-Clauses	154	(1)
If-Then-Clauses	155	(1)
Topicalization and Recursive CPs	156	(7)
Chain Binding and Antireconstruction	163	(6)
Summary	169	(1)
Some Related Constructions	170	(13)
An Argument/Adjunct Asymmetry	178	(1)
Disambiguating Effects of Preposed Adjuncts	179	(1)
Asymmetries with Preposed Adjuncts Involving Non-C-Command Anaphora	180	(1)
Donkey Crossover	181	(2)
Concluding Remarks	183	(7)
Appendix	185	(5)
Presuppositions and Definites	190	(55)
Introduction	190	(8)
The Projection Problem in a Dynamic Setting	191	(3)
Presuppositions and Anaphora	194	(4)
A Framework for Presuppositions and Anaphora	198	(11)
Intensionality	199	(2)
Updates	201	(3)
Context Change Potentials Revisited	204	(5)
Some Empirical Applications	209	(7)
A Dynamic Semantics for Propositional Attitude Verbs	210	(2)
The Presuppositions of Determiners	212	(4)
Definites	216	(14)
Two Possible Implementations	218	(2)
The Functional Theory of Definites	220	(3)
Consequences	223	(1)
Anaphoric Uses of Definites	223	(2)
A-Indices and Weak Crossover	225	(2)
Accessibility	227	(1)
Other Bound Occurrences of A-Indices	228	(2)
Loose Ends and Conclusions	230	(15)
E-Type Pronouns Again	230	(5)
Existence and External Negation	235	(3)
Summary	238	(1)
Appendix	238	(7)
Notes	245	(10)
References	255	(8)
Index	263