Boolean Semantics for Natural Language 23

Keenan, Edward L. & L. M. Faltz

ISBN 10: 9027718423 / ISBN 13: 9789027718426

Published by Springer, D. Reidel, 1984

About this Item

Please note that this is a heavy item and may require extra postage for international shipping.; Card covers are slightly curled with bumped corners; spine creased with bumped edges; binding is tight; pages are crisp with no annotations; previous owners bookplate pasted onto verso of front cover. Overall, this is a very nice copy with no annotations from previous owners. ; Studies In Linguistics And Philosophy, 23; 5.98 X 0.91 X 8.78 inches; 399 pages.

Seller Inventory # 55374

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Boolean Semantics for Natural Language 23
• Publisher: Springer, D. Reidel
• Publication Date: 1984
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 9027718423
• ISBN 13: 9789027718426
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good+

About this title

Synopsis

In the spring of 1978, one of the authors of this book was sitting in on a course in logic for linguists given by the other author. In attempting to present some of Montague's insights in an elementary way (hopefully avoid­ ing the notation which many find difficult at first), the authors began dis­ cussions aimed towards the construction of a simple model-theoretical semantic apparatus which could be applied directly to a small English-like language and used to illustrate the methods of formal logical interpretation. In these discussions two points impressed themselves on us. First, our task could be simplified by using boolean algebras and boolean homomorphisms in the models; and second, the boolean approach we were developing had much more widespread relevance to the logical structure of English than we first thought. During the summer and fall of 1978 we continued work on the system, proving the more fundamental theorems (including what we have come to call the Justification Theorem) and outlining the way in which an intensional interpretation scheme could be developed which made use of the boolean approach (which was originally strictly extensional). We presented our findings in a monograph (Keenan and Faltz, 1978) which the UCLA Linguistics Department kindly published as part of their series called Occa­ sional Papers in Linguistics; one of the authors also presented the system at a colloquium held at the Winter Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America in December 1978.

Review

`... Keenan & Faltz have written an impressive book, in its originality, scope, and sheer intellectual bravado. I found it intensely stimulating, and hope that many others will come to share that feeling.'
Language, 62:4 (1986)
`Being of capital interest for (mathematical and computational) linguists, logicians and algebrists, we believe that the book is, at least for natural language semantics, one of the most valuable of the present decade and will strongly influence the forthcoming researchers in the field.'
Zentralblatt für Mathematik/Mathematics Abstracts, 556 (1985)