Adrian Brasoveanu

Abstract.

The dissertation argues that discourse reference in natural language involves two equally important components with essentially the same interpretive dynamics, namely reference to values, i.e. non-singleton sets of objects (individuals and possible worlds), and reference to structure, i.e. the correlation / dependency between such sets, which is introduced and incrementally elaborated upon in discourse.

To define and investigate structured discourse reference, a new dynamic system couched in classical (many-sorted) type logic is introduced which extends Compositional DRT (CDRT, Muskens 1996) with plural information states, i.e. information states are modeled as sets of variable assignments (following van den Berg 1996a), which can be can be represented as matrices with assignments (sequences) as rows. A plural info state encodes both values (the columns of the matrix store sets of objects) and structure (each row of the matrix encodes a correlation / dependency between the objects stored in it). Given the underlying type logic, compositionality at sub-clausal level follows automatically and standard techniques from Montague semantics (e.g. type shifting) become available.

The idea that plural info states are semantically necessary is motivated by examples with morphologically singular anaphors, in contrast to the previous literature that argues for plural info states based on plural anaphora. Plural Compositional DRT (PCDRT) enables us compositionally account for a variety of phenomena, including: (i) mixed weak & strong donkey anaphora, e.g. Every person who buys a^u computer and has a^u' credit card uses it_u' to pay for it_u, (ii) quantificational subordination, e.g. Harvey courts a^u girl at every^u' convention. She_u always_u' comes to the banquet with him (Karttunen 1976), (iii) modal anaphora and modal subordination, e.g. A^u wolf might^p come in. It_u would_p eat Harvey first (based on Roberts 1989) and (iv) naturally-occurring discourses exhibiting complex interactions between modalized conditionals, donkey anaphora, modal subordination and the entailment particle therefore, e.g. [A] man cannot live without joy. Therefore, when he is deprived of true spiritual joys, it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures (Thomas Aquinas).

The PCDRT account of these phenomena explicitly and systematically captures the anaphoric and quantificational parallels between the individual and modal domains.

Table of Contents.

• Abstract, Acknowledgments, Table of Contents.
• Chapter 1. Introduction.
• Chapter 2. Dynamic Predicate Logic with Generalized Quantification.
• Dynamic Predicate Logic (DPL)
• Anaphora in DPL
• Extending DPL with Unselective Generalized Quantification
• Extending DPL with Selective Generalized Quantification (DPL+GQ)
• Limitations of DPL+GQ: Mixed Weak & Strong Donkey Sentences
  
• Chapter 3. Compositional DRT.
• Dynamic Ty2
• Translating DPL into Dynamic Ty2
• Syntax of a Fragment of English
• Type-driven Translation
• Anaphora and Quantification in Compositional DRT (CDRT)
  
• Chapter 4. Compositional DRT with Generalized Quantification.
• Translating Unselective Quantification into Dynamic Ty2
• Translating Selective Quantification into Dynamic Ty2
  
• Extending CDRT with Generalized Quantification (CDRT+GQ)
• Anaphora and Generalized Coordination in CDRT+GQ
• Limitations of CDRT+GQ: Mixed Weak & Strong Donkey Sentences
  
• Chapter 5. Structured Nominal Reference: Donkey Anaphora.
• Outline of the Proposed Account
• CDRT+GQ with Plural Information States: Plural CDRT (PCDRT)
• Solutions to Donkey Problems
• Comparison with Alternative Approaches
  
• Chapter 6. Structured Nominal Reference: Quantificational Subordination.
• Structured Anaphora to Quantifier Domains
• Redefining Generalized Quantification
• Quantificational Subordination in PCDRT
• Comparison with Alternative Approaches
  
• Chapter 7. Structured Modal Reference: Modal Anaphora and Subordination.
• Structured Reference across Domains
• Intensional Plural CDRT (IP-CDRT)
• Conditionals, Modals and Therefore in IP-CDRT
• Modal Subordination in IP-CDRT
• A Parallel Account of Modal and Quantificational Subordination
• Comparison with Alternative Approaches
  
• Chapter 8. Conclusion.
• References.