Chapter 2 Meaning, thought and reality

Chapter 2 Meaning, thought and reality

1. Explain how language is use to describe the world.

   • There are two terms in semantics
     • Reference
       • It is use for the action if a speaker in picking out entities in the world, depending of the context.
         • types of references
           • Reference and extension
             • Extension the set of things which could possibly be the referent of that expression.
               • denotation the relationship between an expression and its extension
             • Referents the thing picked out by uttering the expression in a particular context
           • Constant versus variable reference
             • That are
               • Constant expressions that have the same referent across a range of utterances. Variable expressions whose referents depend on context
           • Referring and non-referring expressions
             • Refer to
               • Expressions that cannot be use a reference due to they do not identify entities in the world. On the other hand, expression that can identify entities on the world, for example, nouns that are referring expressions
           • Nominals
             • Which are
               • Linguistics units which most clearly reveal this function of language.
         • Also includes
           • Names
             • Which are
               • Labels for people, places, objects, animals, etc.
                 • derives two theories
                   • The description theory
                     • That
                       • Emphasizes the role of identifying knowledge.
                   • The casual theory
                     • That
                       • Stresses the role of social knowledge in the use of names.
           • Nouns and phrases
             • Nouns and NPs can be used to refer, indefinite and definite NPs ca operate like names to pick out and individual.
     • Denote
       • It is use for the relationship between a linguistic expression and the world.
   • Consist of
     • Reference as a Theory of meaning
       • It claims that semantics is reference, and the meaning of a word is given by what it denotes.
     • Mental representations
       • Has to do with
         • Sense, that is a mental representation between the word and the world.
         • Concepts
           • That deal with two questions
             • What form can we assign to concepts? Why some concepts are lexicalized and others not? Due to utility
         • Necessary and sufficient conditions
           • Say taht
             • If something must have certain conditions to be decide if it is or not, is called necessary conditions. On the other hand, if only a set of them are enough, it is called sufficiend conditions
         • Prototypes
           • Viewing concepts as structured so that there are central/typical members of a category, but then shading off into less typical/peripheral members
         • Relations between concepts
           • Relational nature of conceptual knowledge. The crucial element is not the amount of knowledge, but its integration into existing knowledge
         • Acquaring concepts
           • Say that we acquire by being expose to the things in the world that represent it.
     • Words, concepts and thinking
       • Concert to
         • The relationship between lexicalized concepts and general thinking and reasoning; linguistic relativity: Language determines
           • Includes
             • The language of thought hypothesis
               • Says that
                 • The linguistic relativity is rejected by the congnitve science. Also, that thinking and speaking involve disctincs levels of representation.
             • Linguistics relativity
               • That perhaps provides
                 • An explanation for a common experience when dealing with different languages.