- Inter-faculty Studies in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Computer Science
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Mathematics
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Computer Science
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Mathematics
Dynamic theories of meaning 3501-M48-10-OG
Dynamic semantics embodies a new view of meaning, departing from the static (truth-conditional) paradigm conceived by Tarski. The scope of dynamic semantics is not the interpretation of sentences in isolation, but the interpretation of texts (fragments of discourse). The emphasis is not on the concept of truth with respect to appropriate models, but on the context-change potential of linguistic expressions. The core idea of the dynamic semantics is that the meaning of a sentence does not lie in its truth conditions, but rather in the way it changes the context; a sentence is interpreted as a relation between an input context and an output one.
The list of topics will include:
1. Singular anaphora
(a) Static approach: Predicate Logic, E-type Interpretation
(b) Dynamic approach: Kamp and Reyle's Discourse Representation Theory (DRT 1993)
(c) Dynamic approach: Groenendijk and Stokhof’s Dynamic Predicate Logic (DPL 1991).
2. Plural anaphora
(a) Static Plural Logic
(b) Dynamic approach: Kamp and Reyle's DRT
(c) Dynamic approach: Van den Berg’s Dynamic Plural Logic (DPlL 1996).
3. Compositionality
(a) Static Type Logic
(b) Dynamic approach: Muskens' Dynamic Type Logic (DL 1996)
(c) Dynamic approach: Bittner's Update with Centering (UC).
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
By the end of this lecture students will be able to use Dynamic Predicate Logic, Dynamic Plural Logic and Dynamic Type Logic to represent a fragment of natural language discourse.
Assessment criteria
Attendance and class participation, homework assignments.
Bibliography
1. Bittner, M. Temporality: Universals and Variation, book in preparation.
2. Groenendijk, J., M. Stokhof. 1991. “Dynamic Predicate Logic”, Linguistics and Philosophy 14(1), 39–100.
3. Kamp, H.: 1981. “A theory of truth and semantic representation”. [W:] J. Groenendijk, T. Janssen i M. Stokhof (red.), Truth, Interpretation and Information, Dordrecht: Foris, 1–41.
4. Kamp, H., Reyle, U. 1993. From Discourse to Logic, Dordrecht: Kluwer.
5. Karttunen, L. 1971. “Discourse Referents”, Technical report, RAND Corporation, Reproduced by the Indiana University Linguistics Club.
6. Muskens, R. 1996. “Combining Montague semantics and discourse representation”, Linguistics and Philosophy 19(2), 143–186.
7. Van den Berg, M. H. 1996. The Internal Structure of Discourse, Ph.D. thesis, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam.
Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
- Inter-faculty Studies in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Computer Science
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Mathematics
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Computer Science
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Mathematics
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: