Compositionality
- Created by: A. Person
- Created on: 18-05-17 12:22
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- Compositionality
- Thesis that meaning of complex expression is determined by constituents and structure.
- Syntax + Lexical Semanitcs = entire semantics!
- Arguments in Favour of Compositionality
- Productivity
- Basically draws on ability to understand novel sentences.
- Unboundedness - finite beings, who can potentially understand an infinite number of complex expressions.
- Related to LEARNABILITY
- Unboundedness - finite beings, who can potentially understand an infinite number of complex expressions.
- Speakers can understand expressions never encountered before.
- Because of knowledge of structure + meaning of words.
- Appears to rule out rote learning?
- Because of knowledge of structure + meaning of words.
- Basically draws on ability to understand novel sentences.
- Systematicity
- We can recombine expressions to form new ones which we will understand.
- Language made up of predictable patterns
- If understand constituents of given sentences, and the meaning a syntactic operator conveys...
- You will be able to recombine the constituents and structure
- Understand the meaning - presumably because meaning is compositional!
- You will be able to recombine the constituents and structure
- OBJECTION
- Johnson: what about cases like 'without a watch' and 'within an hour'
- Basically relies on empirical hypothesis? i.e. that there's a natural non overlapping categorisation of all expressions...?
- Johnson: what about cases like 'without a watch' and 'within an hour'
- We can recombine expressions to form new ones which we will understand.
- Productivity
- Arguments against :(
- Non-linguistic counterexamples.
- Cases where system of rep is systematic and productive, but not compositional.
- Algebraic representation of chess
- Seeing Bb5 won't tell you which bishop is moved; understanding requires following whole description w/ initial configuration.
- So not just dependent on components + structure
- Seeing Bb5 won't tell you which bishop is moved; understanding requires following whole description w/ initial configuration.
- Algebraic representation of chess
- Cases where system of rep is systematic and productive, but not compositional.
- Contextualism -Travis maple leaf exampe
- Meaning of words + syntactic composition same in both,,,
- Response: Allow that statement 'that leaf is green' is true on one occasion, false on another'
- But reference changes.
- Response: Allow that statement 'that leaf is green' is true on one occasion, false on another'
- Meaning of words + syntactic composition same in both,,,
- Non-linguistic counterexamples.
- Thesis that meaning of complex expression is determined by constituents and structure.
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