{"product_id":"what-it-all-means-isbn-9780262047432","title":"What It All Means","description":"\u003cb\u003eHow meaning works—from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music—and how meaning is connected to truth.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe communicate through language, connecting what we mean to the words we say. But humans convey meaning in other ways as well, with facial expressions, hand gestures, and other methods. Animals, too, can get their meanings across without words. In \u003ci\u003eWhat It All Means\u003c\/i\u003e, linguist Philippe Schlenker explains how meaning works, from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music. He shows that these extraordinarily diverse types of meaning can be studied and compared within a unified approach—one in which the notion of truth plays a central role\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“It’s just semantics” is often said dismissively. But Schlenker shows that semantics—the study of meaning—is an unsung success of modern linguistics, a way to investigate some of the deepest questions about human nature using tools from the empirical and formal sciences. Drawing on fifty years of research in formal semantics, Schlenker traces how meaning comes to life. After investigating meaning in primate communication, he explores how human meanings are built, using in some cases sign languages as a guide to the workings of our inner “logic machine.” Schlenker explores how these meanings can be enriched by iconicity in sign language and by gestures in spoken language, and then turns to more abstract forms of iconicity to understand the meaning of music. He concludes by examining paradoxes, which—being neither true nor false—test the very limits of meaning.Acknowledgments ix\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction xi\u003cbr\u003ePrologue: Primate Meanings xxiii\u003cbr\u003e1 Meaning in the Wild 1\u003cbr\u003ePart I: The Building Blocks of Meaning 37\u003cbr\u003e2 Visible Logic: Sign Language and Pronouns 39\u003cbr\u003e3 Me, Me, Me! Perspectives in Language 69\u003cbr\u003e4 Nouns and Verbs: Objects and Events 91\u003cbr\u003e5 Beyond the Here and Now I: From Objects to Situations 111\u003cbr\u003e6 Beyond the Here and Now II: Describing and Classifying Objects and Situations 127\u003cbr\u003ePart II: Using Meaning 145\u003cbr\u003e7 Logic Machine I: Predicate Logic 147\u003cbr\u003e8 Logic Machine II: English as a Formal Language 157\u003cbr\u003e9 Logic Machine III: The Expressive Power of Human Language 173\u003cbr\u003e10 Not Quite Saying It: Focus and Implicatures 197\u003cbr\u003e11 Not At Issue: Presuppositions, Supplements, and Expressives 225\u003cbr\u003ePart III: Extending Meaning 245\u003cbr\u003e12 Iconicity Revisited: Sign with Iconicity Versus Speech with Gestures 247\u003cbr\u003e13 Grammar in Gestures 265\u003cbr\u003e14 Meaning in Gestures 287\u003cbr\u003e15 Meaning in Music 303\u003cbr\u003eEpilogue: The Limits of Truth 339\u003cbr\u003e16 The Limits of Truth I: The Riddle of Paradoxes 341\u003cbr\u003e17 The Limits of Truth II: Solving the Riddle of Paradoxes 355\u003cbr\u003eConclusion 383\u003cbr\u003eAppendix: Phonology, Morphology, and Syntax in Speech and in Sign 389\u003cbr\u003eGlossary 405\u003cbr\u003eGoing Further 415\u003cbr\u003eNotes 429\u003cbr\u003eIllustration Sources 451\u003cbr\u003eIndex 455\"It’s one of  the best popular science  books on linguistics I’ve ever  read: a  page-turner brimming with  fascinating pieces of information,  including  Schlenker’s own theories.\" \u003cbr\u003e–\u003cb\u003eMarc van Oostendorp\u003c\/b\u003e, Professor of Dutch and Academic Communication, Radboud University of Nijmegen“An exciting tour of the many ways meaning can be communicated without and within language. This book sparkles with fresh anecdotes and beautiful insights from Schlenker's own research. The masterly presentation of the current frontiers of linguistic research is obligatory reading for all language enthusiasts.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Uli Sauerland, Vice Director, Leibniz Centre for General Linguistics (ZAS), Berlin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“An exceptionally clear introduction to the linguistic study of meaning and a remarkably bold proposal to broaden the horizons of the field beyond spoken languages. This ambitious and original book will change the way we theorize about meaning.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Zoltán Gendler Szabó, John S. Saden Professor of Philosophy, Yale University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“A careful, captivating exploration of meaning in language and the natural world. Schlenker beautifully charts a vivid landscape of how meaning can be expressed. Cutting edge science at its finest.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Pritty Patel-Grosz, Professor of Linguistics, University of Oslo\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Language has been at the heart of the ‘cognitive revolution’ for some 50 years now; perhaps no area of linguistic inquiry has grown more in depth and breadth than the study of meaning. The striking evidence is all in this book.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Gennaro Chierchia, Haas Foundations Professor of Linguistics, Harvard University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“A compelling explanation for how auditory and visual signals (especially gestures and sign languages) are woven into a meaning-carrying fabric that enables communication. Required reading for scientific approach to meaning.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Ronnie Wilbur, Professor of Speech, Language, \u0026amp; Hearing Sciences, Purdue University\u003c\/b\u003ePhilippe Schlenker is Senior Research Fellow at Centre national de la recherche scientifique (Institut Jean-Nicod, Paris) and Global Distinguished Professor at New York University. His work spans all aspects of meaning, from philosophical logic to formal semantics, in both spoken and signed languages.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303874416869,"sku":"NP9780262047432","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262047432.jpg?v=1767743864","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/what-it-all-means-isbn-9780262047432","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}