Review• Truth value of quantified expressions

• Universal: iterate through all members of U• Rely on g() for that

• Existential: find one member of u that works• Logical Form

• Abstract level of syntax• Interface for syntax/semantics

• Quantifier Raising• Covert movement• So far, just quantifier expressions• Sentence-level adjunction• Variable QR orders: scope ambiguity

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PRAGMATICS AND DISCOURSE(Doing things with language)

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Pragmatics• Situation-based use of language• How language fits into the real world• The study of language use:

• The way language is used in communicative situations• The way we interpret language utterances from context• How we understand non-literal expressions• How we plan and execute utterances to fit expectations,

intentions, context

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Implications and entailment• What the speaker/writer means or implies (vs. what s/he

literally says)• English: kill = cause + become + dead• Conversational implicature: discourse obligations,

(im)plausible conclusions• Philosophy, formal logic has much to contribute to this

area

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Presupposition

• John regrets that he ate all the eggs.• John is sorry that he ate all the eggs.• John repents of having eaten all the eggs.• John is unhappy that he ate all the eggs.• John feels contrite about eating all the eggs.• John feels penitent about eating all the eggs.• John feels remorse for having eaten all the eggs.all presuppose:• John ate all the eggs.

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Meaning per Grice• Speaker A means that p in uttering α iff:

• A intends the utterance of α to lead B to adopt a certain attitude toward p, and

• A also intends B’s recognition of A’s intention to be instrumental in producing in B the intended attitude toward p

• Call this speaker’s meaning• Call α the linguistic meaning or semantic value• Sentence α means that p in community C iff there is some

convention established among the members of C that to utter αis to mean that p (or that the speaker’s meaning of utterances of α is p).

• Utterances are reliably informative because conventions regulate what speakers mean in uttering them.

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Issues about meaning• Speaker meaning, intention• Semantic meaning, expression meaning, semantic value

• How does time fit into this? How about context? Ambiguity?

• Conjunction is usually more complex than [[conj]]M,g

• Linda met the love of her life, and she got married.• Linda got married, and she met the love of her life.

• The boy who cried “Wolf!”

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Understanding an utterance• What about semantic ambiguity?

• We need to make sure we’re communicating the right LF.• A few different levels (so far):

• Lexical or word sense• Quantifier scope• Binding of free pronouns

• There are many more! Stay tuned…

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Definite descriptions• ‘the’ + NP

• Simple or complex NP’s• Uses

• Referential: use the content to refer to an individual• The man drinking Pepsi sneezed.

• What if he’s actually drinking Coke instead?

• Attributive: say something about whoever the description fits• The BYU student who violates the Honor Code will get into trouble.

• What does “the” mean, in terms of set theory?

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Sentential meaning• Moods: declarative, interrogative, conditional, imperative,

etc.

• From a semantics view: a sentence has 2 aspects of meaning• Its semantic content• Its sentential force

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Dialogue and discourse• Discourse processing: interpreting language in its context• Deixis: pointing to real-world entities• Conversation and situation

• Beliefs, desires, intentions• Turn-taking

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Discourse fragments• A: John’s cooking tonight.

B: Where’s the Alka-seltzer?• I now pronounce you man and wife.• A: Do you know what time it is?

B: *Yes.• A: That was a great movie.

B: You can say that again!A: *That was a great movie.

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The common ground• The common set of understanding that is established and

grows between discourse participants• Own goals

• And beliefs about other’s goals, beliefs about other’s beliefs about mine, etc.• Agendas

• And beliefs about other’s agendas, beliefs about other’s beliefs about mine, etc.

• Background knowledge• World knowledge, assumptions about what the other doesn’t know, etc.

• Context• Space, time, history, circumstances

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Updates to the common ground• Everything we say explicitly

• Assertions• Everything we don’t say explicitly but want to communicate

• Implications, entailments, presuppositions, etc.

• Live possibility• All the propositions at a given discourse stage are true at that point

• Discourse/dialogue is very dynamic• On the one hand, it grows drastically• On the other hand, it helps us converge on the meaning

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Speech acts• Austin: “How to do Things with Words”• Huge topic

• Psycholinguists, philosophers, anthropologists, literary critics, lawyers, linguists

• While saying something, or after having said it, we DO (accomplish) something with our utterance; “performatives”

• It changes the world (somehow)• You’re fired.• I bid three clubs.• I bet you it will snow tomorrow.• I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.

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Example speech acts

• I bet you six dollars it will snow tomorrow.• I hereby christen this ship the USS Clinton.• I apologize.• I therefore sentence you to 5 years hard labor.• I bequeath you my 1830 edition of the BoM.• I declare war on Iraq.• I give you my word.• I pledge my allegiance…• *I hereby divorce you.

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Classifying utterances and their effects• Locutionary act

• The actual act of uttering a sentence with certain sense and reference• Illocutionary act

• Strategy encoded in the locutionary act• Informing, ordering, warning, undertaking, asking, etc.

• Perlocutionary act/effect• Desired effect upon the hearer• Convincing, deterring, warning, congratulating, etc.

• Have a wonderful time. [a wish, not a command]• Help youself to the nachos. [permission, not an order]• Do you have the time?

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Speech act requirements• Felicity conditions (else misfire [A,B], abuse [C])

A. Must exist a conventional procedure, effects; situation and persons must follow it

B. Procedure must be executed correctly and completelyC. Participants must have requisite thoughts, feelings,

intentions; subsequent conduct must be followed• Propositional content condition

• Speaker must express some proposition

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Speech act requirements (cont’d)• Preparatory conditions

• S is able to perform A (*May I breathe for you?)• H wants S to perform A (*May I kill your cat now?)

• Sincerity conditions (S intends A)• Propositional conditions

• S1 promise A S1 achieve A• S1 request A S2 address R; accept/reject A• S1 YNQ whether P S2 answer-if P

• Essential conditions (S obliged to do A)

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Selecting speech acts• Close the door.• I want you to close the door. I’d be much obliged if you’d close the door.• Can you close the door? Are you able by chance to close the door?• Would you close the door? Won’t you close the door?• Would you mind closing the door? Would you be willing to close the door?• You ought to close the door. It might help to close the door. Hadn’t you better

close the door?• May I ask you to close the door? Would you mind awfully if I were to ask you

to close the door? I am sorry to have to tell you to please close the door.• Did you forget the door? Do us a favor with the door, chap. How about a bit

less breeze? OK, Johnny, what do big people do then they come in?

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Conversational implicature• Conventional implicature

a) John is an Englishman, but he is cowardly.b) John is an Englishman, and he is cowardly.c) John’s being cowardly is somehow unexpected or surprising in

light of his being English• a implies c, but b doesn’t imply c

• Is reflected in the common ground

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Grice on conversation• Principle of cooperation• Maxims:

• Quantity: be sufficiently verbose• Not more/less informative than necessary

• Quality: be truthful• Don’t say what you know is false or unsupported

• Relevance: be relevant• Say only things that are relevant

• Manner: be perspicuous• Say things unambiguously, clearly, briefly, orderly

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Flouting the maxims• Purposely violating conventions; carries conversational

implicature• Flouting relevance:

• A: Would you like some fresh brownies?B: Is the pope Catholic?

• Flouting quantity:• A: What are you reading?

B: A book.• Flouting quality:

• Your are the cream in my Postum…• Flouting manner:

• Il m’ennuie, celui-là…

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What about these?• Can you pass the salt?• The American flag is white.• Some students did very well on the final.• That novel isn’t good; it’s absolutely superb.

• Pragmatic negation

• Have you read the Bible?I don’t read science fiction.

• He has a nice smile and draws very neat parse trees.

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Script: preconditions, actions, effects

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Other issues• Thematic presentation strategies• Serialization strategies (addresses, lists of languages, etc.)

• Socio-cultural norms for language use (forms of address, taboo, etc.)

• Motivated deviation from pragmatic norms• Humor

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Predicate calculus: new operators• ⃞

• It must needs be that, necessarily• ⃞∀x [person(x) breathes(x)]

• ⃟• It is possible that, possibly• ⃟∃x unicorn(x)

• P• The sentence/proposition has past tense• P sneeze(Fred)

• F• The sentence/proposition has future tense• F sneeze(Fred)

• Semantics: next lecture

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About worlds• So far, what’s in our model of the world?

• M = <U, V> where:• U is the universe of individuals• V is the valuation function

• [[John is hungry]]M,g = 1 means John ∊ [[is hungry]] M,g

• OK for the current circumstance, but what if it changes over time?

• Enrich the model• More models of the world (call them “worlds”)

• Current world is w• Other words are w′, w′′, w′′′, etc.

• Add time points to the model (call them “instants”)• Current instant (i.e. now) is i• Other words are i′, i′′, i′′′, etc.

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Other notes on the next reading• Parse trees: use TP now, not just S

• Don’t always draw in bar-level nodes: watch out!• V used to take one argument (e.g. V(Ling332TA))

• Now it will take two; second one is a <world, instant> pair

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Orderings and accessibility• Instants have an ordering

• Call that ordering <• It becomes part of the model

• Worlds have a “distance”• Possible worlds• Distance from the real world

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