The following article, which can be downloaded from the Readings section of this website, is your optional reading for Tu 5/1: Vendler, Zeno. 1962. Each and Every, Any and All. Mind 71(282): 145-160. The article describes some interesting puzzles concerning the interpretation of plural noun phrases and universally quantified arguments.  Although we will be able to only scratch the surface of these puzzles …

Continue reading ‘OPTIONAL: Reading for Tu 5/1: Vendler (1962)’ »

For this Thursday 4/26, please read sections 8.1-8.3 (pgs. 156-166) of the Kearns textbook.

For next Tuesday 4/24, please read section 6.9 (pgs. 118-121) of the Kearns textbook.

For this Thursday 4/19, please read sections 6.3 through 6.7 (pgs. 99-111) of the Kearns textbook.

For next Tuesday 4/17, please read sections 6.1 and 6.2 (pgs. 94-99) of the Kearns textbook.

For Thursday 4/6 and Tuesday 4/10, please read Chapter 3 of the Kearns textbook, which deals with the semantics of quantified arguments.

Beginning next Tuesday (4/3), we will spend our next several class meetings investigating the semantics of pronouns and quantified arguments.  In preparation for our discussions, please read the short excerpt on these two topics (from E. Bach’s book Informal Lectures on Formal Semantics) which I have posted in the Readings section of this website.

For the week of Tuesday 3/20, please read the following book chapter, which can be downloaded (PDF) from the “Readings” section of this website: Löbner, Sebastian. 2002. Understanding Semantics, Chap. 5 (‘Meaning Relations’). London: Arnold Publishers.

For next Tuesday 3/6 and Thursday 3/8, please read section 2.3 (pgs. 32-39) of the Kearns textbook. Next week, we will look at the language of predicate logic, which provides us with a means to represent meaning relations “below the sentence level”.

For next Tuesday 2/28 and Thursday 3/1, please read sections 4.3 (pgs. 185-198) of the following book chapter, which can be downloaded (PDF) from the “Readings” section of this website: Levinson, Stephen C. 1983. Pragmatics, Chap. 4 (‘Presupposition’). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.