Language & Structure III: Semantics and Pragmatics
24.903, Spring 2003
2-151, MW 1-2.30
The course offers a first introduction to semantics and pragmatics,
the study of meaning in
natural language. It introduces the basic tools and concepts that semanticists use to
analyze meaning (set theory, relations, functions, phrase-structure rules and
compositional semantic interpretation, statement logic and predicate logic,
speech acts, implicature, presupposition,
type theory and lambda abstraction). We will try out these tools on a
number of semantic and pragmatic phenomena, like the composition of meaning of simple
sentences, quantifiers and their scope, variable binding,
the computation of implicatures, and presupposition projection.
We will also discuss ways to relate syntactic
structure to semantic interpretation which allow us to deal with the
phenomenon of scope ambiguities.
Required Textbook
Gennaro Chierchia & Sally McConnell-Ginet, Meaning and Grammar
MIT Press, 2000, (2nd edn.), ISBN 0-262-53164-X
Reference Textbooks
The following textbooks provide further detail and alternate points of
views.
1. Irene Heim & Angelika Kratzer, Semantics in Generative Grammar,
Blackwell Publishers, 1998, ISBN 0-631-19713-3
2. Richard Larson & Gabriel Segal, Knowledge of Meaning,
MIT Press, 1995, ISBN 0-262-62100-2
3. Shalom Lappin (ed.), The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic
Theory, Blackwell Publishers, 1996, ISBN 0-631-20749-X
4. Barbra Partee, Alice ter Meulen, & Robert Wall, Mathematical Methods
in Linguistics, Kluwer, 1990; revised edition, 1993. ISBN 90-277-2245-5
Requirements
Grading will based on: class attendance and
participation (10%),
homework exercises (40%, approximately one a week), a midterm exam (
in class on March 19, 20%),
and a final exam (30%).
Handouts
Assignments
- [1]: Assignment on Meaning and Sets, due on Feb. 19,
Solutions
- [2]: Assignment on Sets and Schönfinkelization, due on Feb. 26,
Solutions
- [3]: Assignment on Types, due on Mar. 5,
Solutions
- [4]: Assignment on the λ calculus,
due on Mar. 12,
Solutions
- [MT]: Midterm Exam, on Mar. 19
- [5]: Assignment on Definite Descriptions
and Relative Clauses, due on Apr. 2
- [6]: Assignment on Statement Logic,
due on Apr. 9
- [7]: Assignment on Exclusive Or ,
due on Apr. 16
- [8]: Assignment on Quantifiers,
due on Apr. 23
- [9]: Assignment on Implicature,
due on Apr. 30
- [10]: Assignment on Quantifier Raising,
due on May 9
Topics
-
Background: Sets and Functions, the λ-calculus
-
Syntactic Structure and Semantic Interpretation
-
Background: Statement Logic
-
Predicates, Modifiers, Definite NPs, Type Theory
-
Quantifiers in Natural Language
-
Relative clauses, Variables, Variable Binding
-
Quantification and Grammar: Constraints on Quantifier Movement
-
Bound and Referential Pronouns and Ellipsis
-
Syntactic Structure and Semantic Scope
-
Implicature