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Book Cover
Book
Author Cann, Ronnie.

Title Formal semantics : an introduction / Ronnie Cann
Published Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1993

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  401.43 Can/Fsa  AVAILABLE
Description xvii, 344 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Series Cambridge textbooks in linguistics
Cambridge textbooks in linguistics.
Contents Machine derived contents note: 1. Introduction -- 2. Predicates and arguments -- 3. Negation and co-ordination -- 4. Type theory -- 5. Lambda abstraction -- 6. Quantification -- 7. Inference -- 8. Time, tense, and aspect -- 9. Possible worlds -- 10. Intensional semantics
Summary "This book provides a clear and accessible introduction to formal, and especially Montague, semantics within a linguistic framework. It presupposes no previous background in logic, but takes the student step-by-step from simple predicate/argument structures and their interpretation through to Montague's intensional logic. It covers all the major aspects, including set theory, propositional logic, type theory, lambda abstraction, traditional and generalised quantifiers, inference, tense and aspect, possible worlds semantics, and intensionality. Throughout the emphasis is on the use of logical tools for linguistic semantics, rather than on purely logical topics, and the introductory chapter situates formal semantics within the general framework of linguistic semantics. It assumes some basic knowledge of linguistics, but aims to be as non-technical as possible within a technical subject. Formal semantics will be welcomed by students of linguistics, artificial intelligence and cognitive science alike."--Jacket
Analysis English language Semantics
English language Semantics
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 333-338) and index
Subject Semantics (Philosophy)
Semantics.
LC no. 92008538
ISBN 0521374634 (hardback)
0521376106 (paperback)