![]() ![]() If the answer to theįirst question is positive, the second is independent ofĬompositionality. The question of compositionality does not arise. If the answer to the first question is negative, Have meaningful constituents), and if there are, whether theseĬontribute the same thing (presumably their meaning) to all thoughts (perhaps in the extended sense in which traffic signs can be said to The issue tends toīe whether there are such things as meaningful constituents of thought The debate is typically presented as a debate aboutĬompositionality, but it is not exactly about that. Proponents of classical cognitive architecture and proponents of There is a major debate within the philosophy of mind between Once we have an initial grip on what counts as a constituent and howĬonstituents compose we can legitimately raise the question whether Relax the syntactic ideas of constituency and structure. What would such an extended sense be? The key to generalizingĬompositionality for non-linguistic representational systems is to Those who reject this hypothesis may still speak of theĬompositionality of thought-but only in an extended sense. Presumably, are not themselves meanings) and that they have meaningfulĬonstituents. Swahili or the language of set theory for the question to make sense,īut we do need the assumptions that thoughts have meanings (and so, If thought is a kind of language, we can raise the question whether it Taken as talk of compositionality of some particular natural language, Proof-checking in computer languages, or inductive proofs in logicalĬalculi.) Unless explicitly noted, talk of compositionality is to be (Compositionality is a bonus when it comes to Prima facie, natural languages might turn out not to beĬompositional, whereas many artificial languages were designed to meet Settled usually by checking what the appropriate stipulations are. Syntactic and semantic questions about an artificial language are Language are settled by and large through empirical investigation Syntactic and semantic questions about a natural It makes a big difference whether L is a natural or anĪrtificial language. Syntax of L, while the meanings of simple expressionsĬompositionality entails (although on many elaborations is notĮntailed by) the claim that syntax plus lexical semantics determines Questions of structure and constituency are settled by the The meanings of the constituents of e in L. L is determined by the structure of e in L and The principle of compositionality is normally taken to quantify overĮxpressions of some particular language L: (C′) For everyĬomplex expression e in L, the meaning of e in Pre-theoretical intuitions that led many to accept compositionality When formulating more precise versions it is crucial to keep the Important variants of the compositionality principle will be presentedīelow in a form most similar to (C) to facilitate Point: (C) The meaning of a complex expression is determined by its structure The following can serve as a common reference There are many theses called ‘the principle ofĬompositionality’. Systematicity by insisting that the phenomena are limited, and by They try to respond to the arguments from productivity and Utterance takes place without their parts displaying a similarĭependence. On the linguistic environment, or on the setting in which the Of larger expressions seem to depend on the intentions of the speaker, Opponents of compositionality typically point to cases when meanings Supposed to feature in the best explanation of these phenomena. Obtained by recombining their constituents. Some complex expressions we tend to understand others that can be Large-perhaps infinitely large-collection of complexĮxpressions the first time we encounter them, and if we understand ![]() Proponents of compositionality typically emphasize the productivityĪnd systematicity of our linguistic understanding. Presupposition of most contemporary work in semantics. This is the principle of compositionality, a fundamental Put together we have no more leeway regarding the meaning of the Relationship is fairly tight: the meaning of a complex expression isįully determined by its structure and the meanings of itsĬonstituents-once we fix what the parts mean and how they are How are theirĬomplexity and meaning related? The traditional view is that the Anything that deserves to be called a language must contain meaningfulĮxpressions built up from other meaningful expressions. ![]()
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