Compositional Semantics

Course Description

This course concerns the question of how the meanings of complex phrases are built up from the meanings of their parts. One possible answer -- called the 'Fregean program' in the extremely influential textbook that we will use by Heim and Kratzer -- is that all phrases combine through a single composition rule, namely 'Functional Application': applying a function to an argument. Through the study of a range of phenomena, including adjectival modification, definite and indefinite noun phrases, relative clauses, quantifiers, and pronouns, we will become tempted to invoke other compositional mechanisms as well. These include (i) additional composition rules such as 'Predicate Modification' and 'Predicate Abstraction', and (ii) 'flexible typing', which allows the meaning of a phrase to be altered via 'type-shifting' rules, thereby changing how it combines with other phrases.

Assessment criteria

Syllabus

Extra credit assignment (due December 12th): Generalized quantifiers

Schedule