Sorting the world : on the relevance of the kind/object-distinction to referential semantics

Sorting the world : on the relevance of the kind/object-distinction to referential semantics / Olav Mueller-Reichau.

The basic hypothesis of this book is that linguistic reference to kinds should be seen as reference to sortal concepts, i.e. cognitive categories for identifying and classifying objects. Viewed that way, kinds serve as the interface between the conceptual system and the grammatical system. Kind-leve...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mueller-Reichau, Olav
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Frankfurt : Ontos Verlag, 2011.
Series:Linguistics & philosophy ; v. 4.
Subjects:
Semantics (Philosophy)
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES > Linguistics > Pragmatics.
Online Access:Click for online access
Table of Contents:
  • Chapter 1 Genericity
  • the standard view; 1.1 Rules and their truth conditions; 1.2 The standard theory of genericity; 1.3 Predicate genericity; 1.4 Nominal genericity I: the standard theoretical point of view; 1.5 Nominal genericity II: the two-way distinction approach; Chapter 2 Kinds as sortal concepts
  • from a cognitive perspective; 2.1 Overview; 2.2 Things in the world; 2.3 Categorisation and individuation; 2.4 The development of kind-based object individuation; 2.5 Linguistic input as trigger?; 2.6 Speculating about developmental stages; 2.7 Conclusions I: kinds as sortal concepts.
  • 2.8 Conclusions II: what does it mean for a kind to exist?Chapter 3 Kinds as ontological primitives
  • from a semantic perspective; 3.1 Overview; 3.2 Object reference and kind reference; 3.3 Kinds as taxonomic categories; 3.4 Kinds and concepts; 3.5 Kinds and properties; 3.6 Chierchia's (1998) notion of kind; 3.7 Lexical and formal semantics; Chapter 4 Spatiotemporal localisation
  • type-token theories of genericity; 4.1 Overview; 4.2 Three-class systems; 4.3 Two-class systems; 4.4 On the sense of the term "referential"; 4.5 Conclusions.
  • Chapter 5 Indefinite reference to kinds
  • the pumpkin crusher puzzle5.1 Overview; 5.2 Reference to subkinds and the pumpkin crusher; 5.3 Indefinite NPs in Carlsonian object-level predications; 5.4 Indefinite NPs in Carlsonian kind-level predications; 5.5 Two kinds of kind-level predicates; 5.6 To invent versus to be extinct; 5.7 How the taxonomic reading comes about; 5.8 Well-establishedness; 5.9 Conclusions; Chapter 6 Lexical classes of predicates
  • normal and Carlsonian kind-level predicates; 6.1 Overview; 6.2 Predicate classes according to the standard theory; 6.3 Outlining the alternative.
  • 6.4 The representative object interpretation6.5 Categorising statements as representative object interpretations; 6.6 No reference to objects without reference to kinds; 6.7 Carlsonian stage-level predicates; 6.8 Conceptual restrictions on spatiotemporal localisation; 6.9 What is special about Carlsonian kind-level predicates; 6.10 Carlsonian kind-level predicates as existence predicates; 6.11 Conclusions; Chapter 7 Overt and covert articles
  • a kind-based DRT approach to the semantics of noun phrases; 7.1 Overview; 7.2 The grammatical role of overt articles; 7.3 Forming complex predicates.
  • 7.4 Internal and external modification7.5 Attributive adjectives; 7.6 On the semantic function of NPs; 7.7 The grammatical null article; 7.8 The requirement of earliest application; 7.9 Existentially interpreted bare plural NPs; 7.10 The semantic contribution of a token-restricting modifier; 7.11 Chierchia's and Krifka's explanations; 7.12 Object-level arguments in kind-level positions; 7.13 Conclusions.

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