This book examines the hypothesis of "direct compositionality", which requires that semantic interpretation proceed in tandem with syntactic combination. Although associated with the dominant view in formal semantics of the 1970s and 1980s, the feasibility of direct compositionality remained unsettled, and more recently the discussion as to whether or not this view can be maintained has receded. The syntax-semantics interaction is now often seen as a process in
which the syntax builds representations which, at the abstract level of logical form, are sent for interpretation to the semantics component of the language faculty. In the first extended discussion of the hypothesis of direct compositionality for twenty years, this book considers whether its abandonment
might have been premature and whether in fact direct compositionality is not after all a simpler and more effective conception of the grammar than the conventional account of the syntax-semantics interface in generative grammar. It contains contributions from both sides of the debate, locates the debate in the setting of a variety of formal theories, and draws on examples from a range of languages and a range of empirical phenomena.
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This book examines the hypothesis of "direct compositionality" which requires that semantic interpretation proceed in tandem with syntactic combination. In the first extended discussion of the hypothesis for twenty years, contributors from both sides of the debate draw on examples from a wide range of languages and discuss the place of direct compositionality in generative grammar.
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1. Introduction: Direct Compositionality ; PART I SOME PROGRAMMATIC ISSUES ; 2. Compositionality as an Empirical Problem ; 3. Direct Compositionality on Demand ; 4. Linguistic Side Effects ; 5. Type Shifting with Semantic Features: a Unified Perspective ; PART II CASE STUDIES ; 6. Direct Compositionality and Variable Free Semantics: the Case of "Principle B" Effects ; 7. The Non Concealed Nature of Free Relatives: Implications for Connectivity in Specificational Sentences ; 8. Connectivity in a Unified Analysis of Specificational Subjects and Concealed Questions ; 9. Degree Quantifiers, Position of Merger Effects with their Restrictors, and Conservativity ; 10. Two Reconstruction Puzzles ; PART III NEW HORIZONS ; 11. Online Update: Temporal, Modal, and de sa Anaphora in Polysynthetic Discourse ; 12. The Dimensions of Quotation ; Index
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an impressive lineup of papers in formal semantics that are concerned with direct compositionality ... I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the specifics of how, for instance, binding and quantification can be accounted for within syntactically sparse frameworks. Direct Compositionality is rich with innovative, well-argued proposals, and anyone who is concerned with the kinds of constructions that are taken up in this volume will
certainly benefit from reading it. * Martin L. Joensson, Language *
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780199204373
Publisert
2007
Utgiver
Vendor
Oxford University Press
Vekt
813 gr
Høyde
241 mm
Bredde
163 mm
Dybde
29 mm
Aldersnivå
05, UU, UP
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
448