Formal semantics (linguistics)
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, formal semantics seeks to understand linguistic meaning
by constructing precise mathematical models of the principles that speakers use to define relations between expressions in a natural language
and the world which supports meaningful discourse.
The mathematical tools used are the confluence of formal logic
and formal language theory, especially typed lambda calculi.
Linguists rarely employed formal semantics until Richard Montague
showed how English (or any natural language) could be treated like a formal language. His contribution to linguistic semantics, which is now known as Montague grammar
, was the basis for further developments, like the categorial grammar
of Bar-Hillel and colleagues, and the more recent type-logical semantics (or grammar) based on Lambek calculus.
Another line of inquiry, using linear logic
, is Glue semantics
, which is based on the idea of "interpretation as deduction", closely related to the "parsing as deduction" paradigm of categorial grammar.
In 1992 Margaret King argued that few of the proposals from formal semanticists have been tested for empirical relevance, unlike those in computational linguistics
.
Cognitive semantics
emerged and developed as a reaction against formal semantics.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, formal semantics seeks to understand linguistic meaning
Meaning (linguistics)
In linguistics, meaning is what is expressed by the writer or speaker, and what is conveyed to the reader or listener, provided that they talk about the same thing . In other words if the object and the name of the object and the concepts in their head are the same...
by constructing precise mathematical models of the principles that speakers use to define relations between expressions in a natural language
Natural language
In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...
and the world which supports meaningful discourse.
The mathematical tools used are the confluence of formal logic
Formal logic
Classical or traditional system of determining the validity or invalidity of a conclusion deduced from two or more statements...
and formal language theory, especially typed lambda calculi.
Linguists rarely employed formal semantics until Richard Montague
Richard Montague
Richard Merett Montague was an American mathematician and philosopher.-Career:At the University of California, Berkeley, Montague earned an B.A. in Philosophy in 1950, an M.A. in Mathematics in 1953, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy 1957, the latter under the direction of the mathematician and logician...
showed how English (or any natural language) could be treated like a formal language. His contribution to linguistic semantics, which is now known as Montague grammar
Montague grammar
Montague grammar is an approach to natural language semantics, named after American logician Richard Montague. The Montague grammar is based on formal logic, especially higher order predicate logic and lambda calculus, and makes use of the notions of intensional logic, via Kripke models...
, was the basis for further developments, like the categorial grammar
Categorial grammar
Categorial grammar is a term used for a family of formalisms in natural language syntax motivated by the principle of compositionality and organized according to the view that syntactic constituents should generally combine as functions or according to a function-argument relationship...
of Bar-Hillel and colleagues, and the more recent type-logical semantics (or grammar) based on Lambek calculus.
Another line of inquiry, using linear logic
Linear logic
Linear logic is a substructural logic proposed by Jean-Yves Girard as a refinement of classical and intuitionistic logic, joining the dualities of the former with many of the constructive properties of the latter...
, is Glue semantics
Glue Semantics
Glue semantics, or simply Glue is a linguistic theory of semantic composition and the syntax-semantics interface which assumes that meaning composition is constrained by a set of instructions stated within a formal logic, Linear logic...
, which is based on the idea of "interpretation as deduction", closely related to the "parsing as deduction" paradigm of categorial grammar.
In 1992 Margaret King argued that few of the proposals from formal semanticists have been tested for empirical relevance, unlike those in computational linguistics
Computational linguistics
Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the statistical or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective....
.
Cognitive semantics
Cognitive semantics
Cognitive semantics is part of the cognitive linguistics movement. The main tenets of cognitive semantics are, first, that grammar is conceptualisation; second, that conceptual structure is embodied and motivated by usage; and third, that the ability to use language draws upon general cognitive...
emerged and developed as a reaction against formal semantics.
Further reading
An very accessible overview of the main ideas in the field. Chapter 10, Formal semantics, contains the best chapter-level coverage of the main technical directions The most comprehensive reference in the area. One of the first textbooks. Accessible to undergraduates. (PhD thesis/tech report on which the book material is based)- Reinhard Muskens Type-logical Semantics to appear in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online.
- Barbara H. Partee: Reflections of a formal semanticist as of Feb 2005. Ample historical information. (an extended version of the introductory essay in Barbara H. Partee: Compositionality in Formal Semantics: Selected Papers of Barbara Partee. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 2004.)