Linguistic Semantic Theory
(Redirected from Language Semantic Theory)
A Linguistic Semantic Theory is a linguistic theory that is a semantic theory (can systematically explain meaning construction in natural language to support linguistic semantic analysis).
- AKA: Natural Language Semantics Theory.
- Context:
- It can typically model Meaning Relation between linguistic expressions and world entities, situations, or mental representations.
- It can typically formalize Semantic Composition showing how complex expression meanings derive from component meanings.
- It can typically explain Inference Pattern including entailment, presupposition, and semantic equivalence.
- It can typically represent Semantic Property such as reference, truth conditions, and sense relations.
- It can typically account for Meaning Ambiguity through systematic representation of multiple interpretations.
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- It can often analyze Lexical Meaning through semantic features, meaning components, or conceptual structure.
- It can often address Context Sensitivity where expression meaning depends on contextual parameters.
- It can often capture Cross-Linguistic Variation in semantic category and meaning structure.
- It can often formalize Quantification through logical representations of quantifier scope and binding relations.
- It can often model Semantic Change through diachronic analysis of meaning evolution.
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- It can range from being a Formal Linguistic Semantic Theory to being a Cognitive Linguistic Semantic Theory, depending on its theoretical foundation.
- It can range from being a Truth-Conditional Linguistic Semantic Theory to being a Conceptual Linguistic Semantic Theory, depending on its meaning criterion.
- It can range from being a Compositional Linguistic Semantic Theory to being a Holistic Linguistic Semantic Theory, depending on its compositional approach.
- It can range from being a Lexical-Focused Linguistic Semantic Theory to being a Discourse-Focused Linguistic Semantic Theory, depending on its analytical scope.
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- It can include:
- Expressive Adequacy: How well does the theory allow linguistic meanings to be expressed correctly?
- Grammatical Compatibility: How cleanly does the semantic representation link to other kinds of grammatical information (most notably syntax)?
- Computational Tractability: How simple is it to process meanings; to check semantic equivalence efficiently; and to straightforwardly express relationships between semantic representations?
- Underspecifiability: Does it allow for leaving semantic distinctions unresolved (underspecification), and still allow flexible, monotonic resolution of these underspecifications?
- It can be a part of a Natural Language Grammar System alongside syntactic theory, morphological theory, and phonological theory.
- It can interface with a Linguistic Syntactic Theory to connect meaning representations with syntactic structures.
- It can complement a Linguistic Pragmatics Theory by focusing on literal meaning rather than contextual usage.
- It can employ Formal Representation such as logical forms, model-theoretic structures, or semantic networks.
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- Examples:
- Linguistic Semantic Theory Approach Categories, such as:
- Formal Linguistic Semantic Theorys, such as:
- Cognitive Linguistic Semantic Theorys, such as:
- Computational Linguistic Semantic Theorys, such as:
- Linguistic Semantic Domain Categories, such as:
- Lexical Linguistic Semantic Theorys, such as:
- Sentential Linguistic Semantic Theorys, such as:
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- Linguistic Semantic Theory Approach Categories, such as:
- Counter-Examples:
- Linguistic Syntactic Theory, which focuses on grammatical structure rather than meaning.
- Linguistic Pragmatics Theory, which addresses intended meaning in context rather than literal content.
- Linguistic Phonology Theory, which studies sound patterns rather than semantic content.
- Linguistic Stylistics, which analyzes expressive effect rather than meaning construction.
- Corpus Linguistics, which describes usage patterns without necessarily providing meaning explanations.
- See: Lexical Semantic Theory, Semantics, Compositionality, Reference, Truth Condition, Meaning, Interpretation, Model Theory.
References
2005
- (Copestake et al., 2005) ⇒ Ann Copestake, D. Flickinger, C. Pollard, and I. A. Sag. (2005). “Minimal Recursion Semantics: an Introduction. Research on Language and Computation 3.4: 281-332. (paper.pdf)