WorkshopChoice Functions and
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[ Organizers ] [ Description ] [ Workshop papers ]
Klaus von Heusinger
Fachbereich Sprachwissenschaft tel: 07531 - 88-3028 |
Ruth Kempson
Leverhulme Research Professor, tel.: 0171-848-2655 |
Wilfried Meyer-Viol
Philosophy Department |
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Interest in the use of choice functions is increasing in formal semantics. Their syntactic counterpart, the epsilon operator, was introduced into meta-mathematics in the epsilon calculus of Hilbert and Bernays 1939, which provides an explicit study of arbitrary names used as predicate logic proof terms, the epsilon operator being a generalised iota operator underpinning uses of both existential and universal quantification. Choice functions provide a highly flexible semantic tool; yet as term-creating operators, epsilon terms exhibit properties that are discrete from more familiar quantifiers.
With epsilon terms as part of the presumed logical vocabulary for NL semantics, a number of phenomena can be analysed from a new perspective: eg scope phenomena of definite, indefinite NPs and wh-expressions, E-type anaphora, and maximalisation effects in relative clauses.
The goal of the workshop is to bring together linguists/logicians who have addressed these issues to explore applications of the epsilon calculus in NL syntax/semantics.
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Klaus von Heusinger | Choice Functions and the Anaphoric Semantics of Definite NPs [ Abstract-pdf] |
Philipp Schlenker | Choice Functions: From Definite Descriptions to Conditionals [ Abstract-pdf] |
Wilfried Meyer-Viol | Proof terms for the existential quantifier [Abstract-pdf] |
Ingo Reich | A one dimensional choice-function approach to "Association with Focus" [ Abstract-pdf] |
Ruth Kempson and Masayuki Otsuka and Wilfried Meyer-Viol |
Tree growth ant the construal of indefinites [ Abstract-pdf] |
Kimiko Nakanishi | Scope Encoding of Indefinite NPs in Japanese [ Abstract-pdf] |
Donka Farkas | Varieties of Indefinites [ Abstract-pdf] |
Cornelia Endriss and Christian Ebert | Generalized quantifiers and in-situ interpretation [ Abstract-pdf] |
Dora Alexopoulou and Caroline Heycock | Definites vs. indefinites in Functional Relative Clauses [ Abstract-pdf] |
Yoad Winter | On Skolem functions and wide scope indefinites [ Abstract-pdf] |
Paul Dekker | Skolem Functions and individual concepts [ Abstract-pdf] |
Uli Sauerland | Donkey Anaphora and Choice Functions |