Strong and weak occurences of variables in language

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Arnim von Stechow
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages
• Term: from 2001 to 2002
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5294432

The invention of predicate logic by Frege in 1879 has provided an understanding of expressions containing quantifiers and bound variables like 'For every x, two times x is greater than x'. [...] We address the question from the perspective of linguistic semantics, a branch of cognitive science that breaks down the human ability to understand sentences into a small set of general primitives. This field generally assumes Frege's variables, but some alternatives have already been investigated. Our research is finding that the items usually analyzed as occurences of variables fall into two general classes. For one class, we have found novel evidence in favor of their infinite ambiguity and a (suitably enriched) analysis as Fregean variables. But for the other class, Fregean variables prove too powerful - the infinte ambiguity isn't attested. The research seeks to develop this general picture, and offer a deeper understanding of the underlying causes.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Sternefeld