Metaphor and Lexical Semantics

Metaphor and Lexical Semantics

This paper shows that several sorts of expressions cannot be interpreted metaphorically, including determiners, tenses, etc. Generally, functional categories cannot be interpreted metaphorically, while lexical categories can. This reveals a semantic property of functional categories, and it shows that metaphor can be used as a probe for investigating them. It also reveals an important linguisti...

Dynamic Semantics for Metaphor 1 Running head: Dynamic Semantics for Metaphor Dynamic Semantics for Metaphor

An intensional logic with dynamic interpretation is presented in order to provide a formal semantics for sense extension, lexical ambiguity and metaphoricity. Intensionality is required in order to provide the right account of polysemy and homonymy. The dynamics are required in order to allow the interpretation of a sentence to impact the interpretation of subsequent sentences by adding any ext...

Lexical Semantics and Pragmatics

In this paper I discuss some general problems one is confronted with when trying to analyze the utterance of words within concrete conceptual and contextual settings and to go beyond the aspects of meaning typically investigated by a contrastive analysis of lexemes within the Katz-Fodor tradition of semantics. After emphasizing some important consequences of the traditional view, several phenom...

Lexical Semantics

Preference Semantics, III-Formedness, and Metaphor

This paper is about the relationships between Preference Semantics (PS) and illformedness , and between Preference Semantics and metaphor. Two types of "preference", declarative and procedural, are distinguished. The PS framework is examined with respect to notions of welland il l-formedness, and two criteria for i l l -formedness are distinguished, both of which are possessed by PS: an absolut...