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.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780192546388
Publisert
2022
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok