Logic in Linguistics

Description

An elementary introduction to formal logic, particularly intended for linguists and others interested in languages. Concepts and theories developed within formal logic for the study of artificial languages have for some time been fruitfully applied to the study of natural languages and some knowledge of them is now necessary for students of linguists (especially semantics). With this need in mind the authors offer a clear, succinct and basic introduction to set theory, inference, propositional and predicate logic, deduction, modal and intensional logic, and various recent extensions of these. There is a discussion too of the relation between linguistics and logical analysis and between logic and natural language. The authors see increasing scope for cooperation between logicians and linguistics in studying the structure of language, and it is the overall aim of the book to promote this cooperation.

'For the most part, this book is a pleasant introduction to the main topics of modern elementary logic up as far as the semantics of natural languages. It also touches on some areas which belong more to the semantics of natural languages than to logic proper, such as the semantics of categorial grammars or the analysis of presuppositions. The first aim is to tell the reader what techniques are available rather than to train him in any of them. In this aim the book succeeds well: it is clear, readable, accurate and up to date. There are sensible exercises to most chapters, and adequate references for the reader who wants to go deeper ... the book can certainly be recommended as a text.' Journal of Linguistics