4. Conceptual Semantics
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Ray Jackendoff
Abstract
Conceptual Semantics takes the meanings of words and sentences to be structures in the minds of language users, and it takes phrases to refer not to the world per se, but rather to the world as conceptualized by language users. It therefore takes seriously constraints on a theory of meaning coming from the cognitive structure of human concepts, from the need to learn words, and from the connection between meaning, perception, action, and nonlinguistic thought. The theory treats meanings, like phonological structures, as articulated into substructures or tiers: a division into an algebraic Conceptual Structure and a geometric/ topological Spatial Structure; a division of the former into Propositional Structure and Information Structure; and possibly a division of Propositional Structure into a descriptive tier and a referential tier. All of these structures contribute to word, phrase, and sentence meanings. The ontology of Conceptual Semantics is richer than in most approaches, including not only individuals and events but also locations, trajectories, manners, distances, and other basic categories. Word meanings are decomposed into functions and features, but some of the features and connectives among them do not lend themselves to standard definitions in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions. Phrase and sentence meanings are compositional, but not in the strict Fregean sense: many aspects of meaning are conveyed through coercion, ellipsis, and constructional meaning.
Abstract
Conceptual Semantics takes the meanings of words and sentences to be structures in the minds of language users, and it takes phrases to refer not to the world per se, but rather to the world as conceptualized by language users. It therefore takes seriously constraints on a theory of meaning coming from the cognitive structure of human concepts, from the need to learn words, and from the connection between meaning, perception, action, and nonlinguistic thought. The theory treats meanings, like phonological structures, as articulated into substructures or tiers: a division into an algebraic Conceptual Structure and a geometric/ topological Spatial Structure; a division of the former into Propositional Structure and Information Structure; and possibly a division of Propositional Structure into a descriptive tier and a referential tier. All of these structures contribute to word, phrase, and sentence meanings. The ontology of Conceptual Semantics is richer than in most approaches, including not only individuals and events but also locations, trajectories, manners, distances, and other basic categories. Word meanings are decomposed into functions and features, but some of the features and connectives among them do not lend themselves to standard definitions in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions. Phrase and sentence meanings are compositional, but not in the strict Fregean sense: many aspects of meaning are conveyed through coercion, ellipsis, and constructional meaning.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Cognitive Semantics: An overview 1
- 2. Prototype theory 29
- 3. Frame Semantics 57
- 4. Conceptual Semantics 86
- 5. Two-level Semantics: Semantic Form and Conceptual Structure 114
- 6. Word meaning and world knowledge 154
- 7. Model-theoretic semantics 181
- 8. Event semantics 232
- 9. Situation Semantics and the ontology of natural language 267
- 10. Situation Semantics: From indexicality to metacommunicative interaction 295
- 11. Discourse Representation Theory 321
- 12. Dynamic semantics 385
- 13. Rhetorical relations 413
- Index 441
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- 1. Cognitive Semantics: An overview 1
- 2. Prototype theory 29
- 3. Frame Semantics 57
- 4. Conceptual Semantics 86
- 5. Two-level Semantics: Semantic Form and Conceptual Structure 114
- 6. Word meaning and world knowledge 154
- 7. Model-theoretic semantics 181
- 8. Event semantics 232
- 9. Situation Semantics and the ontology of natural language 267
- 10. Situation Semantics: From indexicality to metacommunicative interaction 295
- 11. Discourse Representation Theory 321
- 12. Dynamic semantics 385
- 13. Rhetorical relations 413
- Index 441
