Referential-Semantic Analysis: Aspects of a Theory of Linguistic Reference (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, Series Number 28)

Dr Thrane makes an original contribution to one of the central topics in syntax and semantics: the nature and mechanisms of reference in natural language. He makes a fundamental distinction between syntactic analyses that are internal to the structure of a language and analyses of the referential properties that connect a language with the 'outside world' - and therefore derive in some sense from common human capacities for perceptual discrimination. Dr Thrane argues that the failure to make this distinction and to attend separately to both kinds of analysis has vitiated previous general accounts of linguistic structure. The book focuses particularly on pronouns and on the role of determiners, quantifiers and other components of the noun phrase. Most of the data come from the modern Germanic languages, especially English, but Dr Thrane considers also the structural peculiarities of 'classifier languages' like Vietnamese. The book will be important for students of English language as well as for general linguists. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 Introduction: The functions of language......Page 14 PART I - THE PRELIMINARIES......Page 18 1.1 Pronominalization......Page 20 1.2 Linguistic relations and linguistic models......Page 25 1.3 Predicational structure and explanatory adequacy......Page 28 2.0 Introductory comments on `meaning'......Page 35 2.1 Existence and location......Page 39 2.2 Existence and denotation......Page 40 2.3 Existence as categorial location......Page 41 2.4 Categorial and spatio-temporal location......Page 42 2.5 Reference and referentiality......Page 43 PART II - THE THEORY......Page 44 3.1 Referential function and referential potential......Page 46 3.2 Syntactico-semantic and referential--semantic analyses......Page 48 4.1 Form and function......Page 52 4.2 Metatheoretical considerations......Page 56 4.3 The elements of NP......Page 72 4.4 Referential phrases......Page 83 4.5 Summary of main points......Page 85 5.1 Features on FC......Page 87 5.2 The hierarchy of referential phrases......Page 99 5.3 Features on L......Page 103 5.4 Summarizing rules and sample derivation......Page 110 5.5 Lexical insertion: initial statement......Page 111 6.2 Subjunction......Page 115 6.3 The morphophonemic component......Page 129 6.4 Adjunction......Page 132 6.5 Preliminary comments on recursion......Page 134 PART III - THE APPLICATION......Page 136 7.1 `Referential functive' defined......Page 138 7.2 Delimitative and juxtapositive serialization......Page 139 7.3 The classes of referential functives......Page 140 7.4 Ill-formed, well-formed, and deviant strings......Page 147 7.5 Derivational characteristics of the referential functives......Page 148 7.6 The notional content of the referential functives......Page 167 8.1 Indefiniteness: sortal and selective expressions......Page 170 8.2 The classes of sortal and selective expressions......Page 171 8.3 All and some......Page 172 8.4 Any......Page 176 8.5 Specificness and `genericness'......Page 184 9.1 The influence of Lind......Page 191 9.2 Identitive the, this, and that......Page 197 10.1 Categorial vs. non-categorial: evidence for the distinction......Page 219 10.2 Simple non-categorial signs in English......Page 220 10.3 The simple categorial pronouns: he, him, she, it, they......Page 230 10.4 The complex pronouns......Page 241 CONCLUSION: SUMMARY AND FURTHER PROSPECTS......Page 251 Bibliography......Page 253 Index......Page 261 Torben Thrane. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 240-247.