Continuations and the Nature of Quantification (2002)
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| Venue: | NATURAL LANGUAGE SEMANTICS |
| Citations: | 22 - 3 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Barker02continuationsand,
author = {Chris Barker},
title = {Continuations and the Nature of Quantification},
journal = {NATURAL LANGUAGE SEMANTICS},
year = {2002},
volume = {10},
pages = {211--242}
}
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Abstract
This paper proposes that the meanings of some natural language expressions should be thought of as functions on their own continuations. Continuations are a well-established technique in the theory of programming language semantics; in brief, a continuation is the entire default future of a computation. I show how a continuation-based grammar can unify several aspects of natural language quantification in a new way: merely stating the truth conditions for quantificational expressions in terms of continuations automatically accounts for scope displacement and scope ambiguity. To prove this claim, I exhibit a simple finite context-free grammar with a strictly compositional semantics in which quantificational NPs are interpreted in-situ but take semantic scope over larger constituents. There is no Quantifier Raising (nor any use of a level of Logical Form distinct from overt syntax), no Cooper Storage (or other similar mechanisms used in many recent HPSG, Categorial, or Type-logical treatments), and no need for type-shifting (as in Hendriks' Flexible Types account). Continuations also provide a natural account of generalized coordination that does not require either type-shifting or type-polymorphism. Compositionality issues are discussed in some detail.
