LINGUIST List 20.1183

Tue Mar 31 2009

Diss: Semantics: Scheffler: 'Semantic Operators in Different ...'

Editor for this issue: Evelyn Richter <evelynlinguistlist.org>

        1.    Tatjana Scheffler, Semantic Operators in Different Dimensions
Message 1: Semantic Operators in Different Dimensions
Date: 31-Mar-2009
From: Tatjana Scheffler <tatjana.schefflerdfki.de>
Subject: Semantic Operators in Different Dimensions
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Institution: University of Pennsylvania Program: Department of Linguistics Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2008

Author: Tatjana Scheffler

Dissertation Title: Semantic Operators in Different Dimensions

Dissertation URL: http://www.dfki.de/~tasc/dissertation.html

Linguistic Field(s): Semantics
Subject Language(s): English (eng)                             German, Standard (deu)
Dissertation Director:
Maribel Romero
Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis studies the interface of truth-conditional andnon-truth-conditional meaning by investigating constructions whose meaningand use differ because their semantic contributions are distributeddifferently over the semantic dimensions. The constructions in question arecertain clausal adjuncts and complements.

For clausal adjuncts, I argue that two words for 'because' in German('weil' and 'denn') contribute the same semantic operator (causality), buton different semantic dimensions. While 'weil' operates in the assertion(or at issue) dimension, 'denn' instead contributes a side comment (orconventional implicature). Consequently, the two words differ both in theirrange of use as well as in their semantic behavior as part of largersentences. I point out the same empirical dichotomy for other adjuncts suchas regular and relevance conditionals, 'although'-clauses, and differentkinds of adverbs. I show that for each of the constructions similarsemantic differences result because an operator is contributed on the atissue dimension in one case, and as a conventional implicature in the other.

In the realm of complement clauses I investigate complements of attitudeverbs. Of the large range of constructions that express the semanticarguments of attitude verbs, I study two in this thesis: slifting andembedded verb-second clauses. I show that these two constructions againmirror the situation as with 'weil' and 'denn' above: I propose that thetwo constructions contribute the same semantic pieces, but distribute themdifferently over the semantic dimensions of assertion and conventionalimplicature.

In multiple case studies, this thesis thus addresses some of the mostimportant questions in linguistic semantics: What are the semantic piecesassociated with a certain word or construction? How are these semanticpieces distributed over the known dimensions of meaning? And what effectsdoes the individual distribution of meaning parts over semantic dimensionshave for the overall meaning, function, and discourse effects of complexutterances?

The issue of the dimensionality of semantic entailments is not bound to aparticular language (group), and the phenomena I study are generallycross-linguistically well-attested. For practical reasons, though, thediscussion in this dissertation concentrates mostly on examples from Germanand English.


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