Unit 2 - Sentences, Utterances and proopositions Flashcards
Utterance def
→ 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 aprticular speaker, on aparticular occasion, of a piece of language, such as a sequence of sentences, or a single phrase, or even a single word
Everything you hear = an utterance BUT has to be a piece of language
Utterance vs events
Utterances are PHYSICAL EVENTS. They die on the wind.
Events are EPHEMERAL
A sentence :
The last sentence of the def = an inscription = what you see print
If you hear me read it = you heard an utterance not a sentence
→ a sentence is neither a physical object nor a physical event. It is, concieved 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 inscirptions
→ a sentence is a string of words. any change in the words or in their order makes a different sentences
→ a sentence is a grammatically complete string ow ords expressing a complete thought
””
italic
”” = utterance
italic = sentence
What about accent and voice quality
accent and voice quality belong strictly to the utterance, not to the sentence uttered
sum up sentence, utterance, inscription
A sentence = abstract
A sentence written = inscription
A sentence spoken = utterance
Ellipse
sth is eliminated mainly because it is not necessary
Non-sentences
itend to exclude any string of words that does not have a verb n it, as well as other strings
Coffee, please = not asentence
I would like a cup of coffee = sentence
Proposition
→ that part of the meaning of the utterance of a declarative sentence which describes somes state of affairs
The notion of truth can be used to decide whether 2 sentences express different propositions.
Proposition doesn’t necessarily need to be true, only need to be assumption.
A proposition = as statement about a state of the world
What are true proposititions ?
True propositions correspond to facts
One can entertain propositions in the mind regadless of whether they are true or false e.g by thinking of them, or believing them. But ONLY TRUE PROPOSITIONS CAN BE KNOWN
What are false propositions ?
False propositions do not correspond to fact
proposition and declarative, interrogative & imperative forms
propositions are clearly involved in the meanings of other types of sentences, such as interrogatives & imperative.
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.
→ In saying “JOhn can go” a speaker asserts the proposition that John can go
→ “Can John go?”, he mentions the same proposition but merely questions its truth.
=> corresponding declaratives & interrogatives ( and imperatives) have the same propositional content
propositions vs sentence & language
Propositions, unlike sentences, CANNNOT BE SAID TO BELONG TO ANY PARTICULAR LANGUAGE.
Sentences, in diff languages, CAN CORRESPOND TO THE SAME PROPOSITION, if the two sentences are perfect translations of each other.
I am cold & J’ai froid = are perfect translations of each other = said to correspond to the same proposition.
Can be loud or quiet ?
Utterance
Sentences
Propositions
Utterances YES
Sentences NO
Propositions NO
Can be grammatical or not ?
Utterance
Sentences
Propositions
Utterances YES
Sentences YES
Propositions NO
