Overview

Semantic underspecification is an essential and pervasive property of natural language. This monograph provides a comprehensive survey of the various phenomena in the field of ambiguity and vagueness. The book discusses the major theories of semantic indefiniteness, which have been proposed in linguistics, philosophy and computer science. It argues for a view of indefiniteness as the potential for further contextual specification, and proposes a unified logical treatment of indefiniteness on this basis. The inherent inconsistency of natural language induced by irreducible imprecision is investigated, and treated in terms of a dynamic extension of the proposed logic. The book is an extended edition of a German monograph and is addressed to advanced students and researchers in theoretical and computational linguistics, logic, philosophy of language, and NL- oriented AI. Although it makes extensive use of logical formalisms, it requires only some basic familiarity with standard predicate logic concepts since all technical terms are carefully explained.

Full Product Details

Author:   Manfred Pinkal ,  Geoffrey Simmons
Publisher:   Springer
Imprint:   Springer
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1995
Volume:   56
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.602kg
ISBN:  

9789048145294

ISBN 10:   9048145295
Pages:   382
Publication Date:   08 December 2010
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Introductory Remarks.- I.- 1. Semantic Indefiniteness.- 2. Prerequisites and Fundamental Concepts.- 3. The Phenomenon of Precisification.- 4. Vagueness and Ambiguity.- II.- 5. On the Logic of the Indefinite.- 6. Precisification Semantics.- III.- 7. Vagueness and Imprecision.- 8. Dynamic Semantics for Vague Expressions.- Concluding Remarks.- References.- Statements and Definitions.- Index of Names.

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions