Overview

An introductory linguistics textbook that takes a novel approach- studying linguistic semantics as an exercise in scientific theory construction. An introductory linguistics textbook that takes a novel approach- studying linguistic semantics as an exercise in scientific theory construction. This introductory linguistics text takes a novel approach, one that offers educational value to both linguistics majors and nonmajors. Aiming to help students not only grasp the fundamentals of the subject but also engage with broad intellectual issues and develop general intellectual skills, Semantics as Science studies linguistic semantics as an exercise in scientific theory construction. Semantics offers an excellent medium through which to acquaint students with the notion of a formal, axiomatic system-that is, a system that derives results from a precisely articulated set of assumptions according to a precisely articulated set of rules. The book develops semantic theory through the device of axiomatic T-theories, first proposed by Alfred Tarski more than eighty years ago, introducing technical elaboration only when required. It adopts Japanese as its core object of study, allowing students to explore and investigate the real empirical issues arising in the context of non-English structures, a non-English lexicon and non-English meanings. The book is structured as a laboratory science text that poses specific empirical questions, with 25 short units, each of which can be covered in one class session. The layout is engagingly visual, designed to help students understand and retain the material, with lively illustrations, examples, and quotations from famous scholars.

Full Product Details

Author:   Richard K. Larson ,  Kimiko Ryokai ,  Stephen Nash
Publisher:   MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:   MIT Press
Weight:   0.369kg
ISBN:  

9780262539951

ISBN 10:   0262539950
Pages:   432
Publication Date:   22 November 2022
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Preface for Teachers xv Acknowledgments xxi PART I Setting Out 1 Unit 1 What Is Semantics? 5 Unit 2 The Domain of Semantics 21 Unit 3 The Form of Semantic Theory 33 Unit 4 Introducing T-Theories 47 Part II Building a Semantic Theory 67 Unit 5 Simple Sentences 71 Unit 6 Extending the Theory I 85 Unit 7 Extending the Theory II 95 Unit 8 Names and Predicates 115 Unit 9 More on Predicates 129 Unit 10 Semantic Components 159 Unit 11 Participant Roles 183 Unit 12 Events and Adverbs 203 Unit 13 More on Proper Nouns 225 Part III Semantic Theory and the World 243 Unit 14 Tense and Other Times 247 Unit 15 Modals and Other Worlds 265 Unit 16 Scope and Entailment 283 Unit 17 Variable References and Context 303 Unit 18 Indexicals 321 Unit 19 Displaced Elements 341 Unit 20 Quantifiers I (Sets) 361 Unit 21 Quantifiers II (Determiners) 375 Unit 22 Quantifiers III (Rules) 391 Part IV Semantic Theory and the Mind 415 Unit 23 T-Theories as Formal Systems 419 Unit 24 Knowing a Semantic Theory 439 Unit 25 The Nature of Semantic Values 449 References 465 Index 469

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Author Information

Richard K. Larson is Professor of Linguistics at Stony Brook University and author of Grammar as Science.

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