Week 2 Flashcards
Define sense
the place of an expression in a system of semantic relationships with other expressions in the language
Define reference
relationship between linguistic signs and entities in the world - picks out an entity when uttered in a particular context
What is ambiguity?
a referent with more than one sense
Referents can only be..
noun phrases (NPs)
List some non-referring expressions
predicators, adjectives/adverbs, function words, indefinite NPs, some definite NPs
What are equative sentences?
different NPs that share the same referent e.g. Clark Kent and Superman
What is the difference between variable and constant reference?
variable reference changes depending on context/utterance, but constant reference always remains the same
Define predicator
the linguistic expression that is used to predicate a property of a referent
Define argument
NP referring to the entity of which a property is predicated
A predicator can be…
verbs, common nouns, adjectives, and prepositions NOT determiners
What is degree/valency?
the number of arguments a predicate is normally understood to have
What are predicates with 2 or more arguments called?
relations
Describe identity relations
expresses that the referents of its 2 arguments are the same
Sum up Leibniz’s law/law of substitution
when two expressions have the same referent, one can be substituted for the other in a sentence without changing its truth value
What does Leibniz’s law not work for?
opaque contexts
