According to the traditional view, a word prototypically denotes a class of objects sharing similar features, i.e. it results from an abstraction based on the detection of common properties in perceived entities. I explore here another idea: words result from abstraction of common premises in the rules governing our actions. I first argue that taking 'inference', instead of 'reference', as the basic issue in semantics does matter. I then discuss two phenomena that are, in my opinion, particularly difficult to analyse within the scope of traditional semantic theories: systematic polysemy and plurals. I conclude by a discussion of my approach, and by a summary of its main features.
CITATION STYLE
Kayser, D. (2003, July 29). Abstraction and natural language semantics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Royal Society. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2003.1312
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.