Semantics

Semantics

1. Sense and Reference

2. Entailment, Presupposition, Implicature

   • Entailment
     • anything that follows directly from the literal truth of a sentence
     • a proposition P entails a proposition Q if whenever P is true, Q must also be true
     • equation:
       • a. P = A is a man
         • b. Q = A is male
     • example 1
       • a. P = A has a son
         • b. Q = A has a daughter
           • c. R = A has at least 2 kids
             • R = entailed by the combination of P & Q
     • example 2
       • a. A = I can't meet you on Monday or Tuesday but I can definitely meet you before Friday
         • entailment: I will meet you Wednesday or Thursday
     • entailments can follow from singular sentences and several sentences
   • Presupposition
     • a conclusion that we can draw from the sentence being understandable
     • something that must be true for a sentence to make sense
     • example 1
       • A. Someone called me, it might be my brother
         • Presupposition: I must have a brother
     • presuppositions are invariant in negation
   • NEGATION TEST
     • aka: how to tell the difference between presuppositions and entailments
       • a. If when P isn't true, Q is
         • b. If when P isn't true, Q isn't true
         • PRESUPPOSITION
           • ENTAILMENT
   • Implicature
     • Conventional Implicatures
       • what is suggested, although not expressed nor strictly entailed by an utterance
       • always the same regardless to words, focuses on lexical features
         • CONTEXT INDEPENDENT
           • the difference where the speaker's attention is laughed and cried
         • example 1
           • A. John laughed and Mary cried
             • B. John laughed but Mary cried
               • B is suggesting laughed and cried are a contrast
                 • both sentences have to be true to make sense --- both are associated with individual words
     • Conversational Implicatures
       • inferences not only from sentences but from the particular context
         • CONTEXT DEPENDENT
         • presuppositions are about what the speaker and hearer KNOW about the context of the sentence
           • CIs are about things they AGREE that are not related to the special case description in the sentence
           • A. Am I late for tea?
             • B. I've cleared the table. But give me five minutes, I'll make you something.
               • a. Have you cleared the table and washed up?
                 • b. i. I've cleared the table
                   • b. ii. I've taken everything off the table
               • a. I like apples
       • 4 Aspects of Conversational Implicatures
         • 1. Context Dependence
           • always depends on context
             • CIs can be cancelled by additional info
               • the additional information cancels out the CI that they are late for dinner
                 • must be calculable by general principles
                   • uttering (a) when offered an apple/orange
                     • if not cancelled, (a) indicates want of an apple
               • cannot detach from the meaning - it is attached to the PROPOSITION (meaning) if a sentence
                 • if utterance is paraphrased, the CI remains
                 • contrasts with BUT v AND but CI remains
         • 3. Non-detachability
         • 2. Cancellability
         • 4. Calculability
       • The Cooperative Principles
         • Herbert Paul Grice, 1967 - what people abide by in order for conversation to function
           • most speakers don't adhere unless evidence given, most assume rule = followed
             • a. If that's a genuine Picasso then I'm the Queen of Wales
               • a. Some students came
                 • b. Most students came
                   • c. All students came
                 • a. That's my mother and her husband standing there
             • CI =not a genuine Picasso
             • flouting = a metaphor
           • Relation
             • must have info related to the topic
               • a. Are the neighbours home?
                 • b. Their car isn't there
               • CI = neighbours aren't home
           • CIs = scalar implicatures (scale of quantity)
             • Quantity
               • Manner
             • if one is altered, others are false
               • the speaker HAS to utter most maximally informative sentence
             • being under-informative implies being heard
             • the way something is said
               • CI = husband is not the person's father
                 • not a great relation, perhaps
         • Quality