Meaning and Grammar: An Introduction to Semantics

by Gennaro Chierchia, Sally McConnell-Ginet

This self-contained introduction to natural language semantics addresses the majortheoretical questions in the field. The authors introduce the systematic study of linguistic meaningthrough a sequence of formal tools and their linguistic applications. Starting with propositionalconnectives and truth conditions, the book moves to quantification and binding, intensionality andtense, and so on. To set their approach in a broader perspective, the authors also explore theinteraction of meaning with context and use (the semantics-pragmatics interface) and address some ofthe foundational questions, especially in connection with cognition in general. They also introducea few of the most accessible and interesting ideas from recent research to give the reader a bit ofthe flavor of current work in semantics. The organization of this new edition is modular; after theintroductory chapters, the remaining material can be covered in flexible order. The book presupposesno background in formal logic (an appendix introduces the basic notions of set theory) and only aminimal acquaintance with linguistics. This edition includes a substantial amount of completely newmaterial and has been not only updated but redesigned throughout to enhance itsuser-friendliness.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction

522 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 1990

Reviews

[Dipika Desaboyina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first Semantics text I read. I spent a lot of evenings and nights over the course of two semesters solving the problems from this book. During this time, Pavarotti, Bond and Loren settled into an endearing spot in my memory. The language is a little cognitively tedious to parse and assimilate. The problems in the book are good fun. I would say this is a terrific introduction to Compositional Semantics!

[Leonardo]

...relatively agnostic about syntax...

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