Meaning: Semantics, Pragmatics, Cognition by Betty J. Birner Paperback Book

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Meaning addresses the fundamental question of human language interaction: what it is to mean, and how we communicate our meanings to others. Experienced textbook writer and eminent researcher Betty J. Birner gives balanced coverage to semantics and pragmatics, emphasizing interactions between the two.

FORMATPaperback CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

Meaning addresses the fundamental question of human language interaction: what it is to mean, and how we communicate our meanings to others. Experienced textbook writer and eminent researcher Betty J. Birner gives balanced coverage to semantics and pragmatics, emphasizing interactions between the two, and discusses other fields of language study such as syntax, neurology, philosophy of language, and artificial intelligence in terms of their interfaces with linguistic meaning.Comics and diagrams appear throughout to keep the reader engaged; and end-of-chapter quizzes, data-collection exercises, and opinion questions are employed along with more traditional exercises and discussion questions. In addition, the book features copious examples from real life and current events, along with boxes describing linguistic issues in the news and interesting and accessible research on topics like swearing, politics, and animal communication. Students will emerge ready for deeper study in semantics and pragmatics – and more importantly, with an understanding of how all of these fields serve the fundamental purpose of human language: the communication of meaning. Meaning is an ideal textbook for courses in linguistic meaning that focus on both semantics and pragmatics in equal parts, with special attention on philosophical questions, related subfields of linguistics, and interfaces among these various areas.Appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate-level courses in semantics, pragmatics, and general linguistics, Meaning is essential reading for all students of linguistic meaning.

Author Biography

Betty J. Birner is a professor of Linguistics and Cognitive Science in the Department of English at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL. She received her Ph.D. in 1992 from Northwestern University, and has written extensively on pragmatics, the semantics/pragmatics interface, and information structure.

Table of Contents

List of boxesList of figuresList of truth tablesPrefaceAcknowledgments1. What is language? Linguistics The rules of language Language change Research in linguistics Philosophy of language: How meaning works Types of meaning Where is meaning located? The philosophers weigh in, beginning with: Frege Russell Strawson Donnellan The upshot Semantics and pragmatics Discourse models and possible worlds Exercises2. Semantics I: Word meaning What is a word? Where words come from Historical descent Other sources of new words Lexical relations Approaches to word meaning Componential analysis Other primitive-based approaches Prototype theory and The Great Sandwich Controversy Exercises3. Semantics II: Sentence meaning Truth and meaning Sentential relations Logical operators Negation Conjunction Disjunction The conditional The biconditional Propositional logic Analytic statements Synthetic statements Predicate logic Predicates and constants Variables Quantifiers Ambiguity and scope Exercises4. Pragmatics I: The Cooperative Principle Reprise: Semantics vs. pragmatics The Cooperative Principle The maxims The maxim of Quantity The maxim of Quality The maxim of Relation The maxim of Manner Revisiting Grice's problem Tests for conversational implicature Implicature and pragmatic theory Conventional implicature The Gricean world view Pragmatics after Grice Explicature Impliciture Neo-Gricean theory Relevance theory Boundary disputes Exercises5. Pragmatics II: Speech acts Speech acts Performatives Constatives Types of speech acts: first pass Indirect speech acts Felicity conditions Felicity conditions, speech acts, and the Cooperative Principle Types of speech acts: second pass Politeness theory Exercises6. Language structure The Chomskyan revolution Sound structure Word structure Morphemes Allomorphs Words Parts of speech Structure and function Representing word structure Other ways of building words Sentence structure Ambiguity and constituency Representing sentence structure Expanding our grammar Structural ambiguity So what's the point? Exercises7. Interfaces I: Semantics, pragmatics, and philosophy Reference and the semantics/pragmatics boundary What do we refer to when we refer? Deixis and anaphora Indexicals Deixis Personal deixis Spatial deixis Temporal deixis Discourse deixis Anaphora Reference resolution Cataphora Anaphora and phrase types Definiteness Definiteness as uniqueness Definiteness as familiarity Presupposition Testing for presupposition Presupposition triggers Theories of presupposition Accommodation Exercises8. Interfaces II: Structure and meaning Semantic roles Argument-structure alternations Information structure Preposing Postposing Argument reversal Inference Open propositions Constructions The type/token distinction Exercises9. Meaning and human cognition Language and the brain Brain structure Neurons Aphasia Language and thought Does the language I speak affect my view of reality? Language use and world view Advertising Politics and public policy Language and prejudice Connecting the dots Exercises10. Meaning, minds, and machines The nuts and bolts Natural-language processing Artificial intelligence Data mining Deep learning Meaning and the self Bodies and minds Language and consciousness Exercises References Index

Review

"Betty Birner's new book is an ideal guide for students' magical mystery tour of the fascinating intricacies of pragmatics and semantics. Professor Birner clearly introduces landmark research in linguistics, philosophy, and other relevant disciplines, inspiring and helping students begin exploring meaning-language connections for themselves."Sally McConnell-Ginet, Linguistics, Cornell University, USA

Review Quote

Betty Birner's new book is an ideal guide for students' magical mystery tour of the fascinating intricacies of pragmatics and semantics. Professor Birner clearly introduces landmark research in linguistics, philosophy, and other relevant disciplines, inspiring and helping students begin exploring meaning-language connections for themselves. Sally McConnell-Ginet, Linguistics, Cornell

Details ISBN0367028840 Author Betty J. Birner Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd Year 2023 ISBN-13 9780367028848 Format Paperback Imprint Routledge Subtitle Semantics, Pragmatics, Cognition Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom ISBN-10 0367028840 Illustrations 15 Tables, black and white; 27 Line drawings, black and white; 11 Halftones, black and white; 38 Illustrations, black and white Pages 302 Publication Date 2023-03-31 AU Release Date 2023-03-31 NZ Release Date 2023-03-31 UK Release Date 2023-03-31 Alternative 9780367028800 DEWEY 401.43 Audience Tertiary & Higher Education We've got this

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