This volume focuses on the interplay between grammatical and pragmatic factors in the comprehension of lexically communicated meaning. It uses a case-study, modality, in order to illustrate how the plasticity of lexically conveyed information can be accounted for without assuming semantic polysemy. The author's approach to the semantics and pragmatics of the English modal verbs is developed within the relevance-theoretic framework of communication.
FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more |
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Editorial Reviews
Review
Neil Smith, University College London, UK
This innovative treatment of modality in natural language blends insights from linguistics, philosophy and psychology to give a new overview of a complex phenomenon. Papafragou develops a largely relevance-theoretic account of the modals, which claims that they are not ambiguous but that their interpretation depends crucially on the notion of metarepresentation. A core part of the book is an elegant explantion for the order of emergence of the modals in first language acquisition. It will be essential reading for all future work in the area.
Tanja Mortelmans
As one of the many studies on the English modals, Papafragou's work stands out as a relevance-theoretic account of the meaning of the English modals, which also pay considerable attention to theoretical issues concerning the semantic options of polysemy, ambiguity and monosemy.
Pragmatics, Vol 12, No. 1
Marta Carretero, Complutense University, Madrid
This book is a welcome contribution to the literature on semantics and pragmatics, both in general and on the English modals in particular....P offers a meritorious account...and her proposals deserve deep reflection by readers of all orientations.
Language, Vol 79, No. 2
This innovative treatment of modality in natural language blends insights from linguistics, philosophy and psychology to give a new overview of a complex phenomenon. Papafragou develops a largely relevance-theoretic account of the modals, which claims that they are not ambiguous but that their interpretation depends crucially on the notion of metarepresentation. A core part of the book is an elegant explantion for the order of emergence of the modals in first language acquisition. It will be essential reading for all future work in the area.
Tanja Mortelmans
As one of the many studies on the English modals, Papafragou's work stands out as a relevance-theoretic account of the meaning of the English modals, which also pay considerable attention to theoretical issues concerning the semantic options of polysemy, ambiguity and monosemy.
Pragmatics, Vol 12, No. 1
Marta Carretero, Complutense University, Madrid
This book is a welcome contribution to the literature on semantics and pragmatics, both in general and on the English modals in particular....P offers a meritorious account...and her proposals deserve deep reflection by readers of all orientations.
Language, Vol 79, No. 2
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet.
|
|||
|
Video reviews
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
