Papers on reference and dynamic semantics
- Meaning and Use . (in Handbook of Philosophy and Linguistics, by Asher, Fernando, and Kempson, ) pdf file
This paper deals with the meaning of natural language expressions, and how meanings of expressions are used in communication. The two disciplines that talk most about meanings of expressions are linguistics (semantics and pragmatics) and philosophy. This paper is about topics discussed in both disciplines. The first part of the paper is more philosophical in nature and discusses what is meaning in the first place, and how it is related with reference. The second part is concerned with the relation between semantics and pragmatics.
- A modal analysis of presupposition and modal subordination (Journal of Semantics, 2005, 281-306. pdf file )
In this paper I give a
modal two-dimensional analysis of presupposition and
modal subordination. I will think of presupposition as a non-veridical propositional attitude. This allows me to evaluate what is presupposed and what is asserted at different dimensions without getting into the binding problem. What is presupposed will be represented by an accessibility relation between possible worlds. The major part of the paper consists of a proposal to account for the
dependence of the interpretation of modal expressions, i.e. modal subordination, in
terms of an accessibility relation as well. Moreover, I
show how such an analysis can be extended from the
propositional to the predicate logical level.
- Presupposition: An (un)common attitude? ; (In Bauerle et al. (eds.), Presupposition and Discourse, Elsevier, Amsterdam)
pdf
file
In this paper I argue that
presupposition should be thought of as a propositional
attitude. I will separate questions on truth from
questions of presupposition satisfaction by making use
of a two-dimensional analysis. The update of what is
presupposed will be accounted for by eliminating arrows,
which also makes possible an appealing analysis of modal
subordination. (The paper `A modal analysis of modal subordination' is an extension of this paper)
- The dynamics of questions and focus; With Maria Aloni, In: B. Jackson (ed.), Salt 12: Semantic and Linguistic Theory}, 2002, Ithaca, NY, Cornell University. Here is an almost final version: ps
file
This article presents a {\it dynamic} account of questions and focus which combines the logical appeal of the {\it partition theory} of questions with the empirical strength of the {\it structured meaning} account of questions and focus.
- Exhaustivity in Dynamic Semantics; Referential and Descriptive Pronouns (Linguistics and Philosophy, 2001, 24: 621-657)pdf
file
In this paper I argue that {\it anaphoric
pronouns} should always be interpreted {\it
exhaustively}. I propose that pronouns are either used
{\it referentially} and refer to the speaker's referents
of their antecedent indefinites, or {\it descriptively}
and go proxy for the description recoverable from its
antecedent clause. I show how this view can be
implemented within a dynamic semantics, and how it can
account for various examples that seemed to be
problematic for the view that for all unbound pronouns
there always should be a notion of
exhaustivity/uniqueness involved. The uniqueness
assumption for the use of singular pronouns is also
shown to be important to explain what the discourse
referents used in dynamic semantics represent.
- Modal Subordination in Questions (Twendial '98, Recently, Something very close to this analysis has become popular via work of Adrian Brasoveanu) pdf
file
In this paper it is discussed how questions should change information
states in dynamic semantics. The main claim is that the meaning of
following utterances can be dependent on questions in a similar way as
these meanings can be dependent on quantificational sentences, or more
broadly, that this dependence is one of Ômodal subordinationÕ. The most
important contribution of this paper, however, is to show how this dependence
between questions and later utterances can be accounted for in a
general and systematic way.
E-mail: |
R.A.M.VanRooijATuva.nl |