Showing papers in "Theoretical Linguistics in 1974"
TL;DR: A recursive definition of "satisfaction of presupposition" is proposed that makes it unnecessary to have any explicit method for assigning presuppositions to compound sentences.
Abstract: According to a pragmatic view, the presuppositions of a sentence detrmine the class of contexts in which the sentence could be felicitously uttered. Complex sentences present a difficult problem in this framework. No simple \"projection method\" has been found by which we could compute their presuppositions from those of their constituent clauses. This paper presents a way to eliminate the projection problem. A recursive definition of \"satisfaction of presuppositions\" is proposed that makes it unnecessary to have any explicit method for assigning presuppositions to compound sentences. A theory of presuppositions becomes a theory of contraints on successive contexts in a fully explicit discourse.
590 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors formulate principles to account for some of the ways in which tense, mood, aspect and modal verbs are used in English, and describe a computer program which operates according to these principles.
Abstract: In this paper I formulate principles to account for some of the ways in which tense, mood, aspect and modal verbs are used in English, and describe a computer program which operates according to these principles. The program is capable of playing a game of tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses) and answering questions about the course of the game. In particular, it is able to discuss hypothetical situations, both past and future, and to answer questions about possible, as well as actual, events. One of the main ideas on which the program is based is a \"pronominal\" account of both tense and mood as forms of definite reference to previously mentioned situations.
51 citations
27 citations
TL;DR: This paper presents an extension of the model-theoretic framework of semantics in which some pragmatical aspects of natural language can be treated adequately and draws a distinction between basic preference-implicatures ("pragmemes") and derived ones.
Abstract: In this paper we present an extension of the model-theoretic framework of semantics in which some pragmatical aspects of natural language can be treated adequately. In ch.l we specify the scope of generative pragmatics. Ch. 2 outlines the formal framework of semantics. In ch. 3 we pose the problem of non-indicative sentences and in chs. 4 and 5 we reject the solutions suggested by Stenius, Aquist and Lewis. In ch. 6 we define some pragmatical concepts—preconditions and implicatures of various types—using them in ch. 7 to present a pragmatical characterization of moods in terms of preference-implicatures. Some ramifications are discussed. In ch. 8 we draw a distinction between basic preference-implicatures (\"pragmemes\") and derived ones. The derivations involve communication rules. In ch. 9 we outline the extended formal framework. Finally, in ch. 10, we present some open questions.
21 citations
10 citations
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5 citations
TL;DR: The authors discusses the calculus of inferences of a complex sentence from the inferences attributable to its constituent parts and argues that the concept of presupposition is not well defined in a number of linguistic papers.
Abstract: The paper discusses the calculus of inferences of a complex sentence from the inferences attributable to its constituent parts. It is argued that the concept of presupposition is not well defined in a number of linguistic papers. Presuppositions could be defined in the same way as all other inferences and the calculus of presuppositions would constitute only part of the general calculus of inferences which is a crucial problem in natural language semantics.
1 citations