Introduction to Semantics
eBook - PDF

Introduction to Semantics

An Essential Guide to the Composition of Meaning

  1. 301 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Introduction to Semantics

An Essential Guide to the Composition of Meaning

About this book

This textbook helps undergraduate students of language and linguistics taking their first steps in one of the core areas of grammar, introducing them to the basic ideas, insights, and techniques of contemporary semantic theory. Requiring no special background knowledge, the book starts with everyday observations about word meaning and use and then hightlights the role of structure in the analysis of the meanings of phrases and clauses, zooming in on the fascinating and vexing question of how speakers manage to meaningfully communicate with sentences and texts they have never come across before. At the same time, the reader becomes acquainted with the modern, functionalist characterization of linguistic meaning in terms of reference (extension) and information (intension), and learns to apply technical tools from formal logic to analyzing the meaning of complex linguistic expressions as being composed by the meanings of their parts. Each of the nine main chapters contains a variety of exercises for self-study and classroom use, with model solutions in the appendix. Extensive English examples provide ample illustration.

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Yes, you can access Introduction to Semantics by Thomas Ede Zimmermann,Wolfgang Sternefeld in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Languages. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Preface
  2. 1 Literal Meaning
  3. 2 Lexical Semantics
  4. 3 Structural Ambiguity
  5. 4 Introducing Extensions
  6. 5 Composing Extensions
  7. 6 Quantifiers
  8. 7 Propositions
  9. 8 Intensions
  10. 9 Presuppositions
  11. 10 Compositional Variable Binding*
  12. Solutions to the Exercises
  13. References
  14. Index