The role of formal semantics in linguistics

Abstrakt

The role of formal semantics in linguistics

We explain what role formal semantics does and should play for an empirical linguist. By looking at a modified non-modal version of PL1 that allows for representing certain types of contextual dependence, two relevant roles are illustrated. In the end we argue that in analogy with other empirical and formal disciplines, the technical apparatus should be a framework of abstraction for the semantics of natural languages.