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Super Semantics Spring 2018
(LINGUAE, Institut Jean-Nicod, CNRS; DEC, Ecole Normale Supérieure)
(LINGUAE, Institut Jean-Nicod, CNRS; New York University)
Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris - March-May 2018
News
Our last session will be on June 2nd. It will be organized as follows:
- a usual presentation at the beginning, wrapping up ideas related to the latest sessions
- questions from the audience about the class in general (prepare your questions)
- there may be some time left for more targeted discussions with the instructors about term papers
(Both Emmanuel Chemla and Salvador Mascarenhas will be present)
Instructors
Emmanuel Chemla (LINGUAE, LSCP CNRS) Email: chemla at ens.fr
Salvador Mascarenhas (LINGUAE, Institut Jean-Nicod, CNRS; DEC, Ecole Normale Supérieure) Email: salvador.mascarenhas@ens.fr
Philippe Schlenker (LINGUAE, Institut Jean-Nicod, CNRS; New York University) Email: philippe.schlenker@gmail.com
Topic
While formal semantics has been a success story of contemporary linguistics, it has been narrowly focused on spoken language. Systematic extensions of its research program have recently been explored: beyond spoken language, beyond human language, beyond language proper, and even beyond systems with an overt syntax. First, the development of sign language semantics calls for systems that integrate logical semantics with a rich iconic component. This semantics-with-iconicity is also crucial to understand the interaction between co-speech gestures and logical operators, an important point of comparison for sign languages. Second, several recent articles have proposed analyses of the semantics/pragmatics of primate alarm calls, an important topical extension of semantics. Third, recent research has developed a semantics/pragmatics for music, based in part on insights from iconic semantics. Finally, the methods of formal semantics have newly been applied to reasoning and to concepts, which do not have a syntax that can be directly observed. The overall result is a far broader typology of meaning operations in nature than was available a few years ago. The course will offer a survey of some of these results, with topics that will change from year to year.
Time and place
Wednesday, 2-3:30pm (see below for details), Salle Théodule Ribot, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 29, rue d'Ulm.
Prerequisites
Students should have an ability to follow formal analyses, and they should thus have taken a serious introduction to formal logic or to formal semantics, or have significant experience with mathematical theories. If in doubt, please check with the instructors.
Requirements
Preliminary information about the squib and mini-term paper can be found HERE. (updated April 17, 2018)
Participants will be invited to work on small projects (e.g. literature reviews, formal analyses of a set of phenomena, proposals for experiments ). Specifically:
(i) a 2-page squib [= short discussion] will be due early in the semester;
(ii) a mini-term paper (at most 10 pages) will be due at the end of the semester.
Squib deadline: May 16th
[by email to chemla@ens.fr, salvador.mascarenhas@ens.fr, philippe.schlenker@gmail.com],
BUT students writing squibs 'Super Semantics in Communication' should do everything possible to submit their squib by April 18 or earlier (so as to get maximum feedback).
Mini-term paper deadline: June 19th
[by email to chemla@ens.fr, salvador.mascarenhas@ens.fr, philippe.schlenker@gmail.com],
Please register online if you wish to attend the course (whether for credit or not) by filling out this ( short!) form. This way we'll have your email address!
Relevant as well: Stanislas Dehaene's course on 'Origines du langage et singularité de l'espèce humaine', starting January 8, 2018.
Course structure
Material for the class (readings, slides) will either (i) be linked to the sessions below, or (ii) be made available in this Dropbox folder.
(If you have difficulties accessing the folder, please contact the instructors).
Part A. Super Semantics in communication (Schlenker)
A1. Sign language semantics
A2. Signs vs. gestures
A3. Gesture semantics
A4. Primate semantics
A5. Music semantics
Part B. Super Semantics in thought (Chemla - Mascarenhas)
B1. Competition outside of core language cases
B2. Cognitive constraints on content words and function words, in language and thoughts
[Many results described in the class are new and/or summarized with a new perspective, hence numerous self-citations - with apologies. This class should thus give maximal exposure to work currently done in the group.]
Sessions (still tentative; to be adapted as we go)
Part A. Super Semantics in communication (Schlenker)
[holidays]
Part B. Super Semantics in thought (Chemla - Mascarenhas)
May 2: Competition outside of core language cases
Background: Piantadosi, Tenenbaum, Goodman (2016). "The logical primitives of thought: Empirical foundations for compositional cognitive models", Psychological Review. here
Active project: Buccola, Križ, Chemla (submitted) Conceptual alternatives: Competition in language and beyond. here
May 9: Cognitive constraints on content words and function words, in language and thoughts
Background: Xu & Tenenbaum (2007). "Word learning as Bayesian inference." Psychol. Rev., vol. 114, no. 2, pp. 245–272. here
Active projects:
- Dautriche & Chemla (2016). What Homophones Say about Words. PLOS ONE, 11(9): e0162176. here
- Kids version: Dautriche, Chemla, Christophe (2016). Word Learning: Homophony and the Distribution of Learning Exemplars. Language Learning and Development, 12(3): 231--251. here
- Chemla, Buccola and Dautriche (submitted). Connecting content and logical words. here
May 16: Semantics in reasoning I [slides]
Non-classical elements of linguistic meanings; alternatives in language beyond scalar implicature (free-choice, counterfactuals); question semantics and inquisitive semantics
May 23: Semantics in reasoning II [slides]
Alternatives in reasoning; an overview of different approaches; the erotetic theory of reasoning; reasoning with probabilities.
May 30: no class
June 2nd: FINAL CLASS (see above)
June 19: Deadline for the term paper
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