Scope (formal semantics): Difference between revisions
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=== Scope ambiguity === |
=== Scope ambiguity === |
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The scope of an operator need not correspond directly to the word order of the sentence it occurs in. For instance, some sentences display a ''scope ambiguity'' in that the relative scopes of two operators can be construed in multiple ways.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heim |first1=Irene | last2=Kratzer | first2=Angelika |author-link1=Irene Heim |author-link2=Angelika Kratzer |date=1998 |title=Semantics in Generative Grammar |publisher=Wiley Blackwell | location = Oxford |pages= 194-198}}</ref> |
The scope of an operator need not correspond directly to the word order of the sentence it occurs in. For instance, some sentences display a ''scope ambiguity'' in that the relative scopes of two operators can be construed in multiple ways.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heim |first1=Irene | last2=Kratzer | first2=Angelika |author-link1=Irene Heim |author-link2=Angelika Kratzer |date=1998 |title=Semantics in Generative Grammar |publisher=Wiley Blackwell | location = Oxford |pages= 194-198}}</ref><ref> {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Ruys |first1=Eddy | last2=Winter | first2=Yoad |editor-last1=Gabbay |editor-first1=Dov |editor-last2=Guenthner | editor-first2 = Franz |encyclopedia= Handbook of Philosophical Logic |title= Quantifier scope in formal linguistics. |url= https://www.phil.uu.nl/~yoad/papers/RuysWinterScope.pdf |year=2011 |publisher=Springer |edition=2 |location= Dordrecht |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-0479-4_3 |pages= 159-225 }} </ref> |
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# Every hedgehog is friends with a giraffe. |
# Every hedgehog is friends with a giraffe. |
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This sentence can be understood in two ways. On the ''inverse scope reading'', there is a single giraffe who is very popular in the hedgehog community. On the ''surface scope reading'', the sentence can be true even if the hedgehogs are friends with different giraffes. |
This sentence can be understood in two ways. On the ''inverse scope reading'', there is a single giraffe who is very popular in the hedgehog community. On the ''surface scope reading'', the sentence can be true even if the hedgehogs are friends with different giraffes. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 14:36, 29 August 2020
In formal semantics, the scope of an operator is the semantic object to which it applies. For instance, in the sentence "Paulina doesn't drink beer but she does drink wine", the proposition that Paulina drinks beer occurs within the scope of negation, but the proposition that Paulina drinks wine does not. Scope can be thought of as the semantic order of operations. Scope has been a major focus of research in formal semantics, with one of the major concerns being the link between semantic scope and the related syntactic concept which is sometimes also called scope.[1]
Scope ambiguity
The scope of an operator need not correspond directly to the word order of the sentence it occurs in. For instance, some sentences display a scope ambiguity in that the relative scopes of two operators can be construed in multiple ways.[2][3]
- Every hedgehog is friends with a giraffe.
This sentence can be understood in two ways. On the inverse scope reading, there is a single giraffe who is very popular in the hedgehog community. On the surface scope reading, the sentence can be true even if the hedgehogs are friends with different giraffes.
References
- ^ Szabolcsi, Anna (2010). Quantification. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Heim, Irene; Kratzer, Angelika (1998). Semantics in Generative Grammar. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. pp. 194–198.
- ^ Ruys, Eddy; Winter, Yoad (2011). "Quantifier scope in formal linguistics." (PDF). In Gabbay, Dov; Guenthner, Franz (eds.). Handbook of Philosophical Logic (2 ed.). Dordrecht: Springer. pp. 159–225. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0479-4_3.
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