Subject: syntax / philosophy of lang

cormack , annabel ; definitions : implications for syntax , semantics , and the language of thought ; 0-8153 - 3131 - 2 , cloth ; pages , $ 83 ; garland publishing ; outstanding dissertations in linguistics the answer to the question " how can we understand and use a definition ? " provides new constraints on natural language and on the internal language in which meaning is mentally represented . most syntax takes the sentence as the basic unit for well-formedness , but definitions force us to focus on words and phrases , and hence to focus on compositional syntax in parallel with compositional semantics . this study examines both dictionary definitions and definitions from textbooks from the points of view of their syntax , semantics , and use for learning word meaning . the tools used throughout are principles and parameters syntax , relevance theoretic pragmatics , model theoretic semantics , and the formal theory of definitions . the analyses argue that because phrases can be understood in isolation , some standard syntactic analyses must be modified . ' np movement ' has to be reanalysed as transmission of theta roles . these ideas are then applied to a variety of adjectives which take propositional complements . the final chapter argues that for definitions to be understood , the syntax of the language of thought must be close to that of natural language in specifiable ways . for example , semantic types must be common to the two languages . the book will be of interest to linguists concerned with syntax , semantics and pragmatics ; philosophers of mind and of language ; and lexicographers . e - mail : info @ garland . com
