Semantics and Pragmatics
Hurford et al
Lecture 3
Utterance, sentence, proposition
Utterance vs Sentence
Read the following out loud:
• Virtue is its own reward
Now read it out loud again.
The same sentence was involved in the two readings, but you
made two different utterances, i.e. two unique physical
events took place.
• An UTTERANCE is any stretch of talk, by one person, before
and after which there is silence on the part of that person.
• An utterance is the USE by a particular speaker, on a
particular occasion, of a piece of language, such as a
sequence of sentences, or a single phrase, or even a single
word.
Are these Utterances?
• (1) ‘Hello’
• (2) ‘Not much’
• (3) ‘Utterances may consist of a single word, a single
phrase or a single sentence. They may also consist of a
sequence of sentences. It is not unusual to find
utterances that consist of one or more grammatically
incomplete sentence-fragments. In short, there is no
simple relation of correspondence between utterances
and sentences’
• (4) ‘Pxgotmgt’
• (5) ‘Schplotzenpflaaaaaaargh!’
Utterances vs Sentences
• A SENTENCE is neither a physical event nor a physical object. It is,
conceived abstractly, a string of words put together by the
grammatical rules of a language. A sentence can be thought of as
the IDEAL string of words behind various realizations in utterances
and inscriptions.
• (1) Do all (authentic) performances of Macbeth begin by using the
same sentence?
• (2) Do all (authentic) performances of Macbeth begin with the same
utterance? Yes / No
• (3) Does it make sense to talk of the time and place of a sentence?
• (4) Does it make sense to talk of the time and place of an
utterance?
• (5) Can one talk of a loud sentence?
• (6) Can one talk of a slow utterance?
Sentence vs Utterance
• We have defined a sentence as a string of words. A given sentence always
consists of the same words, and in the same order. Any change in the
words, or in their order, makes a different sentence, for our purposes.
• Helen rolled up the carpet different sentences
• Helen rolled the carpet up
• Sincerity may frighten the boy the same sentence
• Sincerity may frighten the boy
• It would make sense to say that an utterance (but not a sentence) was
made in a particular accent or voice (way of pronouncing words)
• (1) Does it make sense to ask what language (e.g. English, French, Chinese)
a sentence belongs to?
• (2) What languages do the following sentences belong to?
• Le jour de gloire est arrivé.
• Ich moschte etwas essen .
• Das ist ein hubsch madschen .
Utterances vs sentences
• A SENTENCE is a grammatically complete string of
words expressing a complete thought.
• This definition is intended to exclude any string of
words that does not have a verb in it, as well as other
strings.
• Example
• I would like a cup of coffee is a sentence.
• Coffee, please is not a sentence.
• In the kitchen is not a sentence.
• Please put it in the kitchen is a sentence.
• Utterances of non-sentences, e.g. short phrases,
or single words, are used by people in
communication all the time. People do not
converse wholly in (tokens of) well-formed
sentences. But the abstract idea of a sentence is
the basis for understanding even those
expressions which are not sentences. In the
overwhelming majority of cases, the meanings of
non-sentences can best be analysed by
considering them to be abbreviations, or
incomplete versions, of whole sentences.
Propositions
• Semantics is concerned with the meanings of non-sentences, such
as phrases and incomplete sentences, just as much as with whole
sentences.
• We begin our analysis with the case of whole sentences. The
meanings of whole sentences involve propositions; the notion of a
proposition is central to semantics.
• A PROPOSITION is that part of the meaning of the utterance of a
declarative sentence which describes some state of affairs.
• The state of affairs typically involves persons or things referred to
by expressions in the sentence and the situation or action they are
involved in. In uttering a declarative sentence a speaker typically
asserts a proposition.
• If there is any conceivable set of circumstances in which one
sentence is true, while the other is false, we can be sure that they
express different propositions.
Same or different propositions
• Consider the following pairs of sentences. In each case, say whether
there are any circumstances of which one member of the pair could
be true and the other false (assuming in each case that the same
name, e.g. Harry, refers to the same person).
• (1) Harry took out the garbage
• Harry took the garbage out
• (2) John gave Mary a book
• Mary was given a book by John
• (3) Isobel loves Tony
• Tony loves Isobel
• (4) George danced with Ethel
• George didn’t dance with Ethel
• (5) Dr Findlay killed Janet
• Dr Findlay caused Janet to die
True propositions = facts
In the present-day world,
• (1) Is it a fact that there are lions in Africa?
• (2) Is the proposition that there are lions in Africa a
true proposition?
• (3) Is it a fact that the state of Arkansas is uninhabited
by human beings?
• (4) Is the proposition that the state of Arkansas is
uninhabited by human beings true?
One can entertain propositions in the mind regardless of
whether they are true or false, e.g. by thinking them, or
believing them. But only true propositions can be known.
Proposition
• In our definition of ‘proposition’ we explicitly mentioned
declarative sentences, but propositions are clearly involved in the
meanings of other types of sentences, such as interrogatives, which
are used to ask questions, and imperatives, which are used to
convey orders. Normally, when a speaker utters a simple declarative
sentence, he commits himself to the truth of the corresponding
proposition: i.e. he asserts the proposition. By uttering a simple
interrogative or imperative, a speaker can mention a particular
proposition, without asserting its truth.
• Example
• In saying, ‘John can go’ a speaker asserts the proposition that John
can go. In saying, ‘Can John go?’, he mentions the same proposition
but merely questions its truth. We say that corresponding
declaratives and interrogatives (and imperatives) have the same
propositional content.
(1) In the following utterances, is any proposition asserted by the
speaker?
• (a) ‘Have you seen my toothbrush?’
• (b) ‘Get out of here this minute!’
• (c) ‘I’m afraid that I’ll have to ask you to leave’
(2) Would you say that the members of the following sentence pairs
have the same propositional content?
• (a) Go away, will you?
• You will go away
• (b) Pigs might fly
• I’m a Dutchman
• (c) I am an idiot
• Am I an idiot?
Propositions and language
• Propositions, unlike sentences, cannot be said to
belong to any particular language. Sentences in
different languages can correspond to the same
proposition, if the two sentences are perfect
translations of each other.
• Example
• English I am cold, French J’ai froid, German Mir ist
kalt, and Arabic بردانto the extent to which they
are perfect translations of each other, be said to
correspond to the same proposition.
• It is sensible to talk of a sentence being in a
particular language, and also sensible to talk
of an utterance being in a particular language,
although one cannot talk of a proposition
being in a particular language.
Propositions
• (1) Fill in the chart below with ‘+’ or ‘-’ as appropriate. Thus, for example,
if it makes sense to think of a proposition being in a particular regional
accent, put a ‘+’ in the appropriate box; if not, put a ‘-’.
• (2) Can the same proposition be expressed by different sentences?
• (3) Can the same sentence be realized by different utterances (i.e. have
different utterances as tokens)?
• A single proposition could be expressed by using several different
sentences (say, Prince William will inherit the throne, or The throne
will be inherited by PrinceWilliam) and each of these sentences
could be uttered an infinite number of times.
• A proposition is an abstraction that can be grasped by the mind of
an individual person. In this sense, a proposition is an object of
thought.
• Propositions are public in the sense that the same proposition is
accessible to different persons.
• The relationship between mental processes (e.g. thoughts), abstract
semantic entities (e.g. propositions), linguistic entities (e.g.
sentences), and actions (e.g. utterances) is problematic and
complicated.
Summary
1. Remember these concepts:
Sentence - utterance - proposition
declarative sentence - interrogative sentence - imperative
sentence
2. Is semantics concerned only with complete sentences? Explain.
3 Indicate the conventions used in the text to distinguish a sentence
from an utterance. Give an illustration of each.
4. Indicate whether each of the following sentence pairs expresses the
same or different propositions.
a Mary read the book / The book was read by Mary
b Fred took back the book / Fred took the book back
c The cat chased the rat / The cat was chased by the rat
d The chef cooked the meal / The chef had the meal cooked
e Hondas are easy to fix / It’s easy to fix Hondas
Summary
5. In each of the following, indicate whether a proposition is asserted or not.
a John left yesterday
b Did John leave yesterday?
c Can John leave this afternoon?
d John, get out of here
e John!
6. Decide whether each pair of sentences below has the same or different
propositional content. If they have the same propositional content,
identify the proposition that they both share.
a Can John have some cake? / John has some cake
b Take out the garbage / You will take out the garbage
c Can you pass the salt? / The salt shaker is nearly empty
7. Utterances can be loud or quiet, in a particular regional accent, and in a
particular language. Can you think of other characteristics of utterances?