Truth-Conditional Semantics 2 Exercises Karen Duy

p. 63 Derive truth conditions for Joe is in Texas S Joe is

in

Texas

1. By FA, Joe is in Texas = is in Texas ( Joe ) 2. By FA, is in Texas = be( in Texas ) 3. By FA, in Texas = in ( Texas ) 4. By the Lexicon, Texas = Texas 5. By the Lexicon, in = [x De . [y De . y is in x]] 6. Then by 3, in Texas = [x De . [y De . y is in x]](Texas) =[y De . y is in Texas] 7. By the Lexicon, be = [f D<e,t> . f ] 8. Then by 2, is in Texas = [f D<e,t> . f ]([y De . y is in Texas]) = [y De . y is in Texas] 9. By the Lexicon, Joe = Joe 10. Then by 1, Joe is in Texas = [y De . y is in Texas](Joe) 11. [yinDe . y is in Texas](Joe) = 1 if and only if Joe is in Texas 12. So Joe is in Texas = 1 if and only if Joe is in Texas p. 66 Derive truth-conditions for Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe S

Kaline

is

gray

cat in

Texas

fond

of

Joe

1. By FA, Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = is a gray cat in Texas fond of J 2. By PM, is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = [x De . is a gray cat (x) = in Texas fond of Joe (x) = 1] 3. By FA, is a gray cat = be ( a gray cat ) 4. By FA, a gray cat = a ( gray cat ) 5. By PM, gray cat = [x De . gray (x) = cat (x) = 1] 6. By PM, in Texas fond of Joe = [x De . in Texas (x) = fond of Joe (x) = 1] 7. By FA, in Texas = in ( Texas ) 8. By FA, fond of Joe = fond ( of Joe ) 9. By FA, of Joe = of ( Joe ) 10. By the Lexicon, Joe = Joe 11. By the Lexicon, of = [x De . x] 12. Then by 9, of Joe = [x De . x](Joe) = Joe 13. By the Lexicon, fond = [x De . [y De . y is fond of x]] 14. Then by 8 and 12, fond of Joe = [x De . [y De . y is fond of x]](Joe) =[y De . y is fond of Joe] 15. By the Lexicon, Texas = Texas 16. By the Lexicon, in = [x De . [y De . y is in x]] 17. Then by 7, in Texas = [x De . [y De . y is in x]](Texas) = [y De . y is in Texas] 18. Then by 6, 14, and 17, in Texas fond of Joe = [x De . [y De . y is in Texas](x) = [z De . z is fond of Joe](x) = 1] =[x De . x is in Texas and x is fond of Joe] 19. By the Lexicon, gray = [x De . x is gray] 20. By the Lexicon, cat = [x De . x is a cat] 21. Then by 5, gray cat = [x De . [y De . y is gray](x) = [z De . z is a cat](x) = 1] = [x De . x is gray and x is a cat] 22. By the Lexicon, a = [f D<e,t> . f ] 23. Then by 4 and 21, a gray cat = [f D<e,t> . f ]([x De . x is gray and x is a cat]) = [x De . x is gray and x is a cat] 2

24. By the Lexicon, be = [f D<e,t> . f ] 25. Then by 3 and 23, is a gray cat = [f D<e,t> . f ]([x De . x is gray and x is a cat]) = [x De . x is gray and x is a cat] 26. Then by 2, 18, and 25, is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = [x De . [y De . y is gray and y is a cat](x) = [z De . z is in Texas and z is fond of Joe](x) = 1] =[x De . x is gray and x is a cat and x is in Texas and x is fond of Joe] 27. By the Lexicon, Kaline = Kaline 28. Then by 1 and 26, Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = [x De . x is gray and x is a cat and x is in Texas and x is fond of Joe](Kaline) 29. [x De . x is gray and x is a cat and x is in Texas and x is fond of Joe](Kaline) = 1 if and only if Kaline is gray, Kaline is a cat, Kaline is in Texas, and Kaline is fond of Joe 30. So Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = 1 if and only if Kaline is gray, Kaline is a cat, Kaline is in Texas, and Kaline is fond of Joe p. 67 Exercise 1 Derive truth conditions for Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe using only FA S

Kaline

is

gray

cat in

Texas

fond

of

Joe

Revise the Lexicon so that: be = [f D<e,t> . [g D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = g (x) = 1]]]

1. By FA, Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = is a gray cat in Texas fond of J 2. By FA, is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = is a gray cat ( in Texas fond of Joe ) 3. By FA, in Texas fond of Joe = in Texas ( fond of Joe ) 4. By FA, in Texas = in ( Texas ) 5. By FA, fond of Joe = fond ( of Joe ) 6. By FA, of Joe = of ( Joe )

7. By FA, is a gray cat = be ( a gray cat ) 8. By FA, a gray cat = a ( gray cat ) 9. By FA gray cat = gray ( cat ) 10. By the Lexicon, Joe = Joe 11. By the Lexicon, of = [x De . x] 12. Then by 6, of Joe = [x De . x](Joe) = Joe 13. By the Lexicon, fond = [x De . [y De . y is fond of x]] 14. Then by 5 and 12, fond of Joe = [x De . [y De . y is fond of x]](Joe) = [y De . y is fond of Joe] 15. By the Lexicon, Texas = Texas 16. By the Lexicon, in = [y De . [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is in y ]]] 17. Then by 4, in Texas = [y De . [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is in y ]]](Texas) = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is in Texas]] 18. Then by 3, 14, and 17, in Texas fond of Joe = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is in Texas]]([y De . y is fond of Joe]) = [x De . [y De . y is fond of Joe](x) = 1 and x is in Texas] = [x De . x is fond of Joe and x is in Texas] 19. By the Lexicon, cat = [x De . x is a cat] 20. By the Lexicon, gray = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is gray] 21. Then by 9, gray cat = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is gray]([[y De . y is a cat] = [x De . [y De . y is a cat](x) = 1 and x is gray] = [x De . x is a cat and x is gray] 22. By the Lexicon, a = [f D<e,t> . f ] 23. Then by 8 and 21, a gray cat = [f D<e,t> . f ]([x De . x is a cat and x is gray]) = [x De . x is a cat and x is gray] 24. By the Lexicon, be = [f D<e,t> . [g D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = g (x) = 1]]] 25. Then by 7 and 23, is a gray cat = [f D<e,t> . [g D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = g (x) = 1]]]([y De . y is a cat and y is gray]) = [g D<e,t> . [x De . [y De . y is a cat and y is gray](x) = g (x) = 1]] = [g D<e,t> . [x De . x is a cat and x is gray and g (x) = 1]] 4

26. Then by 2, 18, and 25, is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = [g D<e,t> . [x De . x is a cat and x is gray and g (x) = 1]]([y De . y is fond of Joe and y is in Texas] = [x De . x is a cat and x is gray and [y De . y is fond of Joe and y is in Texas](x) = 1] = [x De . x is a cat and x is gray and x is fond of Joe and x is in Texas] 27. By the Lexicon, Kaline = Kaline 28. Then by 1 and 26, Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = [x De . x is a cat and x is gray and x is fond of Joe and x is in Texas](Kaline) 29. [x De . x is a cat and x is gray and x is fond of Joe and x is in Texas](Kaline) = 1 if and only if Kaline is a cat, Kaline is gray, Kaline is fond of Joe, and Kaline is in Texas 30. Therefore Kaline is a gray cat in Texas fond of Joe = 1 if and only if Kaline is a cat, Kaline is gray, Kaline is fond of Joe, and Kaline is in Texas p. 67 Exercise 2 New denotation for be (1) S (Dt ) Julius (De ) is

gray (D<<e,t>,<e,t>> )

be must be type < e, t > be = [x De . x exists]

p. 76 Consider: (i) The killer of the black cat escaped (a) Draw an interpretable syntactic structure for (i) S escaped the killer of black cat the

killer = [x De . [y De . y is the killer of x]] escaped = [x De . x escaped]

(b) Describe three possible states of aairs: 1. Where (i) is false There was one black cat in the whole world. A woman named Sara killed this cat. Sara was arrested for killing the black cat, and put in jail. Sara tried to break out of jail, but the guards caught her before she got out of the building and returned her to a more secure cell. So it is false that the killer of the black cat escaped. 2. Where (i) lacks truth-value because the black cat has no extension It has recently been discovered that cats are biologically constituted such that it is physically impossible for them to grow black fur. A secret organization has been responsible for breeding cats and dying their fur black, then distributing these counterfeit felines to various cities around the world. Upon its discovery, the secret organization disbanded and no more cats were dyed. Fast forward 50 years - all the dyed black cats have now died. So the black cat now has no extension. Then there is no unique individual such that this individual killed the black cat. So the killer of the black cat also lacks a denotation. Thus (i) has no truth value. 3. Where (i) lacks truth-value because the killer of the black cat lacks a denotation There was one black cat in the entire world. Because it was so rare, it was taken to live in a wildlife refuge, where it would be safe and protected from all predators or possible killers. The cat lived a ne life and died of old age. So although the black cat died, no one killed it. So the killer of the black cat lacks a denotation. Thus (i) has no truth value. p. 79 (i) John doesnt use the escalator in South College. S not John use the S VP DP NP escalator in South College Based on the denotation we have of the, our theory predicts that (i) will be true if there is one escalator in South College, and John does not use it, and that (i) 6

will be false if there is one escalator in South College, and John does use it. These both seem empirically correct. An alternative scenario might be that there are multiple escalators in South College. If this is the case, then our theory will predict that the sentence does not have a truth value, since the escalator in South College does not have a denotation the denotation of the requires a unique object to satisfy it. This seems empirically correct - if a listener knew there were multiple escalators in South College and someone asked him if John uses the escalator in South College, without specifying which one, the listener would probably be confused, and not know how to answer the question without further information about which escalator the asker was referring to. There is one exception to this case: if there is some shared presupposition between the asker and the listener that the escalator in South College refers to a particular escalator, the listener would be able to answer the question, given he has knowledge about Johns habits regarding the use of this escalator. In this case, (i) would have truth value, but only relative to the background supposition that the escalator in South College is known to refer to a certain escalator in South College. A nal scenario is that there is no escalator in South College. In this case, the escalator in South College has no denotation, so strictly speaking, (i) has no truth value. On one level, this seems empirically correct. If someone asserted that John does not use the escalator in South College, and it is common knowledge that there is no escalator in South College, one could easily imagine responding with confusion, and that this would be an appropriate response. This seems to reect the empirical correctness of the prediction that (i) has no truth value in this scenario. However, one might also think it appropriate to respond, No, John does not use the escalator in South College, because there is no such thing. So it might also seem intuitive that the negation of (i) is false if there is no escalator in South College. This will depend on ones notion of falsity. If one restricts the denotation of false to be sentences with truth-value 0, then the negation of (i) cannot be false. However, if one interprets false as indicating that either the sentence has truth-value 0, or it has no truth-value, we could count the negation of (i) as being false. I think both interpretations of false t with certain plausible empirical results. So one might have to deduce which notion of falsity a person is using based on their reaction to assertions like John does use the escalator in South College. p. 80

b1

b2

b3

b4

b5

b6

(i) the leftmost apple in the row (ii) the leftmost dark apple in the row (iii) the apple that is both leftmost in the row and dark (a) In your intuitive judgment, which individual does (i)-(iii) of these refer to? (i) b1 7

(ii) b2 (iii) none - since the leftmost apple in the row is not dark, none of the apples satisfy this description (b) Leftmost as a one place predicate - leftmost = [x De . x is leftmost] (i) b1 (ii) no denotation - there is no apple that satises both being dark and being leftmost, so dened (iii) no denotation - there is no apple that satises both being dark and being leftmost, so dened (c) Specify a more adequate denotation for leftmost leftmost = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and f (y ) = 1}]] (d) Compute the denotation of the leftmost dark apple in the row Let the following be items of the lexicon: apple in the row = [x De . x is an apple in the row] dark = [x De . x is dark] the leftmost dark apple

1. By FA, the leftmost dark apple in the row = the ( leftmost dark apple in the row ) 2. By FA, leftmost dark apple in the row = leftmost ( dark apple in the row ) 3. By PM, dark apple in the row = [x De . dark (x) = apple in the row (x) = 1] 4. By the Lexicon, apple in the row = [x De . x is an apple in the row] 5. By the Lexicon, dark = [x De . x is dark] 6. Then by 3, dark apple in the row = [x De . [y De . y is dark](x) = [z De . z is an apple in the row](x) = 1] =[x De . x is dark and x is an apple in the row] 7. By the Lexicon, leftmost = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and f (y ) = 1}]]

8. Then by 2 and 6, leftmost dark apple in the row = [f D<e,t> . [x De . f (x) = 1 and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and f (y ) = 1}]]([z De . z is dark and z is an apple in the row]) = [x De . [z De . z is dark and z is an apple in the row](x) = 1 and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and [z De . z is dark and z is an apple in the row](y ) = 1}] = [x De . x is dark and x is an apple in the row and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and y is dark and y is an apple in the row}] 9. By the Lexicon, the = [f D<e,t> and there is a unique x such that f (x) = 1 . the unique y such that f (y ) = 1] 10. Then by 1 and 8, the leftmost dark apple in the row = [f D<e,t> and there is a unique x such that f (x) = 1 . the unique z such that f (z ) = 1]([[x De . x is dark and x is an apple in the row and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and y is dark and y is an apple in the row}]) = The unique z De such that [x De . x is dark and x is an apple in the row and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and y is dark and y is an apple in the row}](z ) = 1 = The unique z De such that z is dark and z is an apple in the row and z is to the left of all y De such that y = z and y is dark and y is an apple in the row 11. {x De : x is dark and x is an apple in the row} = {b2 , b4 , b5 } 12. b4 is to the right of b2 13. b5 is to the right of b4 14. So neither b4 or b5 is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and x is dark and x is an apple in the row}, when x = b4 or x = b5 15. However, b2 is to the left of both b4 and b5 16. So b2 is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and x is dark and x is an apple in the row}, when x = b2 17. So b2 is the only element that satises [x De . x is dark and x is an apple in the row and x is left of all the elements in {y De : y = x and y is dark and y is an apple in the row}] 18. Therefore, by 10, the leftmost dark apple in the row = b2