Semantics: A Reader

Book Overview

Semantics: A Reader contains a broad selection of classic articles on semantics and the semantics/pragmatics interface. Comprehensive in the variety and breadth of theoretical frameworks and topics that it covers, it includes articles representative of the major theoretical frameworks within
semantics, including: discourse representation theory, dynamic predicate logic, truth theoretic semantics, event semantics, situation semantics, and cognitive semantics.

All the major topics in semantics are covered, including lexical semantics and the semantics of quantified noun phrases, adverbs, adjectives, performatives, and interrogatives. Included are classic papers in the field of semantics as well as papers written especially for the volume. The volume comes
with an extensive introduction designed not only to provide an overview of the field, but also to explain the technical concepts the beginner will need to tackle before the more demanding articles. Semantics will have appeal as a textbook for upper level and graduate courses and as a reference for
scholars of semantics who want the classic articles in their field in one convenient place.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195136985
• ISBN13: 9780195136982
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 936 Pages
• Weight: 3.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 7.1" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Probably the most comprehensive survey available

This is one of those collections of classics that easily gets lost among the multitude of books on the topic, but it is still one of the best I've come across. Most of the classics are here, Davidson's 'Truth and Meaning', Lewis' 'General Semantics', Kamp's original presentation of DRT, Groenendijk & Stokhof's 'Dynamic Predicate Logic', Barwise & Perry's 'Situations and Attitudes', Barwise & Cooper's 'Generalized Quantifiers and Natural Language' and the hard to come by (except in the ridiculously expensive 'Themes from Kaplan') 'Demonstratives' by Kaplan, to mention a few. One might question the rationale behind some of the selections, but as a whole this is probably the most comprehensive collection available. With, in addition, a long and illuminating introduction by the editors, this is a must for all students of semantics and philosophy of language, and for researchers that would like to have all of these often cited classics in one place.