Partial 1 Semantics and pragmatics

Semantics

the branch of linguistics concerned with meaning

Pragmatics

the appropriate use of language in different contexts

Context is

Pragmatic

A state is

True if it matches the description, false if it doesnt

Reference

Depends on an specific context in which a word or phrase is used

Ambiguity

more than one sense

Expressive meaning

speakers feelings

Semiotics

the study of the relationship of signs and meanings

Domain

A domain refers to a specific area of knowledge, activity, or interest.

Cognitive semantics

Cognitive semantics centers on the link between language and mental representations.

Denotational semantics

Denotational semantics is an approach in semantics that focuses on the relationship between linguistic expressions and the world, emphasizing how meanings correspond to actual situations. It defines meaning in terms of truth and reference, where a sentence is considered true if it accurately describes a state of affairs in the worl

Sense

The kind of meaning we look up in a dictionary

Diferences between Sense and Denotation

sense= THE IDEA denotation= Examples in real lide

Denotation

It refers to the specific referent or meaning of a word in a given context, such as the actual objects or entities it identifies. For example, the denotation of the word "tree" includes all trees in the relevant context.

Proposition

A claim about the world which may be true in some situations and false in others OR THE MEANING OF A DECLARATIVE SENTENCE

Utterance

Sentence in an specific context

Types of sentences (based on truth conditions)

Analytic, Contradictions, Synthetic

Analytic sentences

Always true, no matter the situation. The truth comes from the meaning

Contradiction

ALWAYS FALSE in every posible situation. The meaning comes from interpretation

Synthetic sentences

The truth depends on MEANING and REAL WORLD facts

What will be, will be is

Analytic

. A triangle has three sides.

Analytic

The cat is on the roof.

Synthetic

The sky is both blue and not blue at the same time.

Contradiction

4 PROPOSITION RELATIONSHIPS

Entailment, Synonymy, Incompatibility, Independence

Entailment

relationship where the truth of one proposition guarantees the truth of another; if proposition A is true, then proposition B must also be true (e.g., "It is raining" entails "The ground is wet").

Synonymy

A relationship where two propositions have the same truth value in all possible situations; they express the same meaning (e.g., "The cat is on the mat" is synonymous with "The mat has a cat on it").

Incompatibility

A relationship where two propositions cannot both be true at the same time; if one is true, the other must be false (e.g., "It is raining" is incompatible with "It is not raining").

Independence

A relationship where two propositions are neither synonymous nor incompatible; knowing the truth value of one does not provide information about the truth value of the other (e.g., "It is snowing" and "She is reading a book").

presupposition

Accepted as truth by the speaker and the listener. May or not be accurate.

presupposition failure

The signal info is not actually part of the common ground.

How to identify a presupposition?

The "Hey, wait a minute!" Test and the P family test

The "Hey, wait a minute!" Test

If a presupposition is triggered that is not part of the common ground, the hearer can challenge it by saying something like, "Hey, wait a minute, I didn't know that!" This response indicates a presupposition failure.

P family

Turning it to question, negation and conditional to see if the inference survives.

iNFELICITOUS

Pragmatically incorrect

Entailments do not depend on

context

How does presupposition differ from entailment?

Presuppositions are background assumptions needed for a statement to make sense, while entailments are direct logical consequences of a statement. A presupposition remains true even if the statement is negated or questioned, but an entailment does not. Presuppositions depend on context and can fail, while entailments are always true based on meaning.

An entailment

is a logical relationship between two propositions where the truth of one proposition (p) guarantees the truth of another proposition (q). Specifically, if proposition p is true, then proposition q must also be true; conversely, if q is false, then p must also be false.

entailment or presupposition?

If the truth of one statement guarantees the truth of another, regardless of context (e.g., "All dogs are animals" entails "My dog is an animal").

Presupposition: If a statement assumes certain background information to be true for it to make sense, and this information remains true even if the statement is negated or questioned (e.g., "The king of France is bald" presupposes that there is a king of France).

In summary, use entailment for direct implications and presupposition for background assumptions.

A: "It is raining."

B: "The ground is wet."

Entailment

A: "Alice stopped smoking."

b: "Alice used to smoke."

Presupposition

The flowers in the garden are blooming

Presupposition