Minimal Semantics (Paperback)

Language: English

Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006

0199206929 / 9780199206926

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Paperback. Minimal Semantics asks what a theory of literal linguistic meaning is for - if you were to be given a working theory of meaning for a language right now, what would you be able to do with it? Emma Borg sets out to defend a formal approach to semantic theorizing from a powerful contemporary opponent - advocates of what she call 'dual pragmatics'. According to dual pragmatists, rich pragmatic processes play two distinct roles in linguistic comprehension: aswell as operating in a post-semantic capacity to determine the implicatures of an utterance, they also operate prior to the determination of truth-conditional content for a sentence. That is to say, they have anintegral role to play within what is usually thought of as the semantic realm.Borg believes dual pragmatic accounts constitute the strongest challenge to standard formal approaches to semantics since they challenge the formal theorist to show not merely that there is some role for formal processes on route to determination of semantic content, but that such processes are alone sufficient for determining content. Minimal Semantics provides a detailed examinationof this dual pragmatic position, introducing readers who are unfamiliar with the topic to key ideas like relevance theory and contextualism, and looking in detail at where these accounts diverge from the formalapproach.Borg's defence of formal semantics has two main parts: first, she argues that the formal approach is most naturally compatible with an important and well-grounded psychological theory, namely the Fodorian modular picture of the mind. Then she argues that the main arguments adduced by dual pragmatists against formal semantics - concerning apparent contextual intrusions into semantic content - can in fact be countered by a formal theory. The defence holds, however,only if we are sensitive to the proper conditions of success for a semantic theory. Specifically, we should reject a range of onerous constraints on semantic theorizing (e.g., that it resolve epistemicor metaphysical questions, or that it explain our communicative skills). So Borg's answer to the question of what a semantic theory is for has a particular, minimal slant. Asks what a theory of literal linguistic meaning is for - if you were to be given a working theory of meaning for a language right now, what would you be able to do with it? The author argues for a minimal answer to this question, thereby defending so-called 'formal semantics' from some serious challenges. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…

Seller Inventory # 9780199206926

Title
Minimal Semantics (Paperback)
Author
Emma Borg
Publisher
Oxford University Press, Oxford
Publication year
2006
Condition
new
Binding
Paperback
Language
English
ISBN 10
0199206929
ISBN 13
9780199206926

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