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The semantics of grammatical dependencies /

Butler, Alastair, 1975-

The semantics of grammatical dependencies / by Alastair Butler. - 1st ed. - 1 online resource (xii, 236 pages) - Current research in the semantics/pragmatics interface, v. 23 1472-7870 ; . - Current Research in the Semantics / Pragmatics Interface 23. Language and Linguistics Special E-Book Collection, 2007-2012, ISBN: 9789004248694. .

Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-228) and index.

Preliminary Material -- 1: Introduction -- 2: Argument Dependencies -- 3: Clause Dependencies -- 4: Unbounded Dependencies -- 5: Intervention and Binding into Relations -- 6: Quantification in Japanese -- 7: Concluding Remarks -- Appendix: SCT implementation -- References -- Index.

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The Semantics of Grammatical Dependencies argues that constraints of interaction from semantic evaluations enforce grammatical dependency patterns that recur across natural languages and within constructions at intra and inter sentential levels as well as discourse levels. The book develops along three lines. Firstly, a handle is gained on why languages are structured around localities, with localities functioning as actions of 'reset' to permit the reuse of grammatical resources that maintain a fixed semantic contribution. Secondly, sensitivity is brought to the linear and hierarchical placement of scope information to capture ordering effects like accessibility, crossover and intervention. Thirdly, an interestingly different perspective is reached on what it means to be grammatical: rather than being a destructive feature that bans or filters out bad structure, grammaticality takes on a role of constructive guidance that keeps languages to what are generally unambiguous canonical forms that moreover guarantee required dependencies. The book will be of interest to advanced undergraduate students, post-graduate and research students and all researchers in the formal analysis of the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of natural language.

9789004253186

10.1163/9789004253186 DOI


Semantics, Comparative.
Linguistic geography.
Grammar, Comparative and general.

P325 / .B89 2010

401.43