Meaning: A Slim Guide to Semantics
| AUTHOR | Elbourne, Paul |
| PUBLISHER | OUP Oxford (12/01/2011) |
| PRODUCT TYPE | Hardcover (Hardcover) |
Description
Our outstanding ability to communicate is a distinguishing features of our species. To communicate is to convey meaning, but what is meaning? How do words combine to give us the meanings of sentences? And what makes a statement ambiguous or nonsensical? These questions and many others are addressed in Paul Elbourne's fascinating guide. He opens by asking what kinds of things the meanings of words and sentences could be: are they, for example, abstract objects or psychological entities? He then looks at how we understand a sequence of words we have never heard before; he considers to what extent the meaning of a sentence can be derived from the words it contains and how to account for the meanings that can't be; and he examines the roles played by time, place, and the shared and unshared assumptions of speakers and hearers. He looks at how language interacts with thought and the intriguing question of whether what language we speak affects the way we see the world.
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Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9780199585830
ISBN-10:
0199585830
Binding:
Hardback or Cased Book (Unsewn / Adhesive Bound)
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
184
Carton Quantity:
30
Product Dimensions:
5.40 x 0.70 x 8.60 inches
Weight:
0.75 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Bibliography,
Index,
Dust Cover,
Table of Contents,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
US
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Semantics
Dewey Decimal:
401.43
Library of Congress Control Number:
2011934699
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
Our outstanding ability to communicate is a distinguishing features of our species. To communicate is to convey meaning, but what is meaning? How do words combine to give us the meanings of sentences? And what makes a statement ambiguous or nonsensical? These questions and many others are addressed in Paul Elbourne's fascinating guide. He opens by asking what kinds of things the meanings of words and sentences could be: are they, for example, abstract objects or psychological entities? He then looks at how we understand a sequence of words we have never heard before; he considers to what extent the meaning of a sentence can be derived from the words it contains and how to account for the meanings that can't be; and he examines the roles played by time, place, and the shared and unshared assumptions of speakers and hearers. He looks at how language interacts with thought and the intriguing question of whether what language we speak affects the way we see the world.
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