What does meaning mean

1
What does meaning mean?

• Linguistics lecture 3
• November 2, 2006

2
Overview

• Interfaces with and within language
• Mind/body and formalism/functionalism
• The problem of meaning
• The syntax-semantics interface

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Language is half in the mind,half in the
physical world
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Interfaces

• Mental language interfaces with the physical
  world in semantics (meaning)
• Mental language interfaces with the physical
  world in phonology (form)
• Syntax is the interface between semantics and
  phonology

5
Formalist view

• Modularity hypothesis semantics, syntax, and
  phonology have their own grammatical structure,
  and are not influenced or shaped by their
  interface roles
• Thus syntax is not shaped by semantics
• Likewise, phonology is not shaped by the physical
  side of speech

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Functionalist view

• Interactionist hypothesis semantics, syntax,
  and phonology are strongly influenced by their
  interface roles
• Some formalists permit functionalism, but only in
  biological evolution
• For example, they say that syntax is innate, but
  that it evolved to solve the semantics-phonology
  interface problem

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Linguists see interfaces everywhere

• Nonlinguistic cognition (e.g. vision, muscle
  control) interfaces with the physical world
• This interface uses nonlinguistic mental
  representations (e.g. visual images)
• These nonlinguistic mental representations
  interface with formal propositions
• Propositions interface with the actual sentences
  of syntax
• Syntax interfaces with phonology, which
  interfaces with the physical world again

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• Physical world

(images etc)
Mental representations
Propositions
Syntax
Phonology
Physical world
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Is meaning an interface?

• What does dog mean? Two things
• ? It refers to something in the world
• dog ?
• ? It can be defined in terms of other forms
• dog animal with four legs that
• dog ???

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Yes, meanings are interfaces

• Meaning type ? is Reference what a linguistic
  form refers to in the real world
• Actually, its an interface between linguistic
  form and mental representations of the world
  (shaped partly by vision, etc)
• Meaning type ? is Sense a formal representation
  of meaning
• This is the mental thing that the linguistic
  form links to propositions

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The nature of reference

• Proper names refer to individuals
• (1) James Myers is here.
• Common words refer to classes
• (2) The American linguist at CCU is here.
• Note that sentences (1) and (2) seem to have the
  same sense (formal equivalence), but different
  references (e.g. if I am replaced by another
  American linguist)

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The reference of a sentence

• The standard theory of sentence meaning is
  truth-conditional semantics
• A sentence refers to the conditions (maybe
  imaginary) under which it is true.
• (1) George W. Bush is a Taiwanese.
• (2) All Taiwanese have three legs.
• Sentence (1) would be true under different
  conditions than sentence (2), so they have
  different meanings.

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The essential role of sense

• Words and sentences dont link to the world
  directly, but instead interface through formal
  propositions sense.
• Sentence Chomsky eats dogs.
• Sense A specific person P called Chomsky has
  a relationship R called eating with a class C
  called dogs, such that R(P,C)
• Reference A mental representation (using images
  etc) of the situation described by the above
  proposition

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The syntax-semantics interface

• But how are sentences translated into formal
  propositions?
• This issue is closely related to formal logic
• (1) George W. Bush is a Taiwanese.
• (2) All Taiwanese have three legs.
• (3) Therefore, George W. Bush has three legs.
• This is logically valid (3) follows from (1)
  and (2), even though they are false.

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Syntax and logic

• The above reasoning is valid because of its
  abstract structure
• (1) X is a Y.
• (2) All Y have Z.
• (3) X has Z.
• This is syntax

All Y have Z
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Semantics and formalism

• The syntax-proposition interface obeys its own
  formal rules that seem to be unrelated to
  experience with the real world
• (1) Bill told John about him.
• (2) Bill told John about himself.
• (3) Bill told John to kill himself.
• (4) Bill told John he is smart.

him ? Bill, him ? John himself Bill himself
John he Bill or he John
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Formal semantic universals?

• Self words in English must be linked to words
  close enough in the sentence
• Bill told John to say Henry likes himself.
• himself Henry, and nobody else
• But Chinese allows long-distance reference
• ????????????????
• ?? ??? or ?? (but not ???)

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Syntax and ambiguity

• Ambiguous sentences have multiple meanings
• Why do you believe that James is dumb?
• Remember? In this case, ambiguity comes from two
  different deep structures
• (1) Whyx do you believe x that James is
  dumb?
• What makes you believe this about James?
• (2) Whyx do you believe that James is dumb x
  ?
• What causes James to be dumb?

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Propositions and ambiguity

• Ambiguity with only one deep structure
• A student read every book.
• Proposition 1
• a studentx every booky x read y
• There is a student who read every book.
• Proposition 2
• every booky a studentx x read y
• For every book, there is a student who read
  it.

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Ambiguity and transformations?

• The ambiguity of the James is dumb sentence
  comes from the transformation from deep structure
  to surface structure.
• Maybe the ambiguity of the student sentence
  comes from another transformation
• surface structure to propositions

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Transforming into propositions

• If this is right, then creating propositions
  should obey syntactic constraints some
  transformation should be illegal
• So with more complex syntax, ambiguity in the
  student sentence disappears
• A student said that he read every book
• (1) a studentx every booky x said that
  hex read y
• (2) every booky a studentx x said that
  hex read y

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Semantics and functionalism

• This formal stuff works pretty well, but people
  also interpret sentences using real-world
  knowledge
• (1) Bill told John she is smart.
• (2) Bill told John. He was surprised.
• (3) Bill told John. He shouldnt have.
• (4) Bill told John he should listen.

she ? Bill or John he John he Bill he John?
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Summary

• Language interfaces with the world through
  semantics and phonology
• Formalists believe in modularity, functionalists
  dont
• Meaning involves both sense and reference
• Interpreting sentences requires transforming them
  into propositions
• Real-world knowledge is also necessary