scholarly journals Challenge Problems for a Theory of Degree Multiplication (with partial answer key)

2022 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Coppock
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Partial Answer ◽  
Good Theory ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Language Semantics

This paper offers a theory of degree multiplication in natural language semantics. Motivation for the development such a theory comes from proportional readings of quantity words and rate expressions such as miles per hour. After laying out a set of ‘challenge problems’ that any good theory of degree multiplication should be able to handle, I set about solving them, borrowing mathematical tools from quantity calculus. These algebraic foundations are integrated into a compositional Montagovian framework, yielding a system that can solve, or partially solve, some of the problems.

What is—or, for that Matter, isn’t—‘Experimental’ Semantics?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Thought Experiments ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Empirical Methods ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
Experimental Semantics

This chapter examines the currently fashionable notion of ‘experimental semantics’, and argues that most work in natural language semantics has always been experimental. The oft-cited dichotomy between ‘theoretical’ (or ‘armchair’) and ‘experimental’ is bogus and should be dropped form the discourse. The same holds for dichotomies like ‘intuition-based’ (or ‘thought experiments’) vs. ‘empirical’ work (and ‘real experiments’). The so-called new ‘empirical’ methods are often nothing more than collecting the large-scale ‘intuitions’ or, doing multiple thought experiments. Of course the use of multiple subjects could well allow for a better experiment than the more traditional single or few subject methodologies. But whether or not this is the case depends entirely on the question at hand. In fact, the chapter considers several multiple-subject studies and shows that the particular methodology in those cases does not necessarily provide important insights, and the chapter argues that some its claimed benefits are incorrect.

A Metalogical Theory of Natural Language Semantics

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-116
Author(s):  
Michael Mccord ◽  
Arendse Bernth
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Language Semantics

Category theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-38
Author(s):  
Ash Asudeh ◽  
Gianluca Giorgolo
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language ◽  
Category Theory ◽  
Categorial Grammar ◽  
Natural Language Semantics ◽  
Fundamental Notion ◽  
Language Semantics ◽  
Natural Transformations ◽  
Glue Semantics

This chapter aims to introduce sufficient category theory to enable a formal understanding of the rest of the book. It first introduces the fundamental notion of a category. It then introduces functors, which are maps between categories. Next it introduces natural transformations, which are natural ways of mapping between functors. The stage is then set to at last introduces monads, which are defined in terms of functors and natural transformations. The last part of the chapter provides a compositional calculus with monads for natural language semantics (in other words, a logic for working with monads) and then relates the compositional calculus to Glue Semantics and to a very simple categorial grammar for parsing. The chapter ends with some exercises to aid understanding.

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