Decomposing the Meaning of Modals

About

Modal statements, like “The keys must be in the drawer” or “We must take the train”, involve a complex interplay of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The goal of this introductory class is to understand how we can decompose the meaning of modal words like can or must, by going through their standard quantificational analysis inherited from modal logic, with particular attention to the work of Kratzer. The class will combine insights from various disciplines: logic, philosophy and formal semantic theories of modality, cross-linguistic fieldwork, psycholinguistics experiments, and language acquisition.

Course leader

Annemarie van Dooren and Anouk Dieuleveut

Target group

Students

Fee info