Elements of Formal Semantics: An Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Meaning in Natural Language

This book introduces the essential principles and techniques of formal semantics. In formal semantics, structure is treated as the essential ingredient in the creation of sentence meaning from individual word meaning. This approach synthesizes the traditions of logical language analysis with the scientific findings of contemporary empirical linguistics and introduces new ways to understand language meaning. Designed as a quick yet thorough introduction to one of the most vibrant areas of research in modern linguistics today this volume reveals the beauty and elegance of the mathematical study of meaning. It contains examples and exercises. It offers an accessible style that is aimed at students developing knowledge of formal semantics. It can be applied to logic, computational linguistics and artificial intelligence.