語意學專題

This course investigates a recurring question in semantic analysis: how much of an interpretation is supplied by context, and how is contextual variation constrained by lexical meaning and grammatical structure? A guiding heuristic throughout the course is: "Meaning"="lexical contribution"+"structural composition"+"contextual restriction" The three parts develop this question through increasingly structured semantic domains. Modality introduces the idea that interpretation depends on restricting a domain of possible worlds. Alternatives extends this perspective to sets of propositions that are generated compositionally but selected and organized by context. Adjective semantics moves from discrete alternatives to ordered degrees and dimensions, asking how lexical scale structure constrains contextual standards, threshold flexibility, multidimensional interpretation, and subjectivity. Across all three parts, students use Mandarin data to ask the same analytical questions: What does the lexical item contribute? What follows from its interaction with other elements in the construction? What is supplied by context? And what empirical evidence can distinguish these possibilities? Goals 1. Students acquire foundational knowledge of formal semantics and its interfaces with pragmatics. 2. Students develop critical thinking and logical reasoning through the analysis of semantic problems and competing theoretical proposals. 3. Students acquire the conceptual and methodological tools needed to conduct original research in formal semantics, particularly through the analysis of Mandarin data. 4. Students learn to develop and communicate a well-structured semantic argument in both oral and written forms. Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Construct and interpret basic compositional analyses. 2. Explain how major components of semantic interpretation interact. 3. Turn linguistic intuitions into controlled empirical paradigms. 4. Compare competing semantic analyses on empirical grounds. 5. Integrate concepts across different semantic domains. 6. Develop and communicate an original semantic argument.

introductory courses in syntax and/or semantics

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Reading presentations: 30% Class participation: 15% Homework assignments: 25% - Problem sets, clarification questions, research questions, reading summaries, and/or other short analytical exercises. Final project: 30% - Oral presentation and term paper. (note: Graduates working on their theses may consult with the instructor to have an a more flexible and feasible evaluation plan.)

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Articles selected by the instructor, including: Coppock, Elizabeth & David I. Beaver. 2014. “Principles of the Exclusive Muddle.” Journal of Semantics 31(3): 371–432. Coppock, Elizabeth & Anna Lindahl. 2015. “Minimal Sufficiency Readings in Conditionals.” In Christopher Brown, Qianping Gu, Cornelia Loos, Jason Mielens & Grace Neveu (eds.), Proceedings of the 15th Texas Linguistic Society, 24–38. Deo, Ashwini, and William Carl Thomas. 2025. “Addressing the Widest Answerable Question: English ‘Just’ as a Domain Widening Strategy.” Journal of Semantics 42: 1–37. Fang, Huilin. 2018. Subjective standard-setting in gradable predicates: On the Mandarin hen structure. In Robert Truswell, Chris Cummins, Caroline Heycock, Brian Rabern & Hannah Rohde (eds.), Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung 21, 409–426. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh. Grano, Thomas. 2012. Mandarin hen and universal markedness in gradable adjectives. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 30(2), 513–565. Kennedy, C. 2013. Two sources of subjectivity: Qualitative assessment and dimensional uncertainty. Inquiry, 56(2-3), 258-277. Kennedy, C., & McNally, L. 2005. Scale structure, degree modification, and the semantics of gradable predicates. Language, 81(2), 345-381. Liu, Mingming. 2017. “Mandarin Conditional Conjunctions and Only.” Studies in Logic 10(2): 45–61. Liu, Mingya & Yuting Wang. 2022. “Jiu-conditionals in Mandarin Chinese: Thoughts on a Uniform Pragmatic Analysis of Mandarin Conditional Constructions.” Linguistics Vanguard 8(s4): 435–446. Solt, Stephanie. 2018. “Multidimensionality, Subjectivity and Scales: Experimental Evidence.” In The Semantics of Gradability, Vagueness, and Scale Structure: Experimental Perspectives, 59–91. Tsai, Cheng-Yu Edwin. 2026. “Exhaustifying Conditionals.” Language and Linguistics 27(2): 324–360. Wimmer, Alexander. 2022. “zhi-{yao, you} ‘only-{need, have}’: On Two Conditional Connectives in Mandarin.” Journal of East Asian Linguistics 31(3): 401–438. Winter, Y. 2006. Closure and telicity across categories. In C. Tancredi, M. Kanazawa, I. Ikumi, and K. Kusumoto (Eds.), Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory XVI (SALT 16).

地點

HC 416

時間

By appointment

聯絡方式

Contact: hcliao@nycu.edu.tw