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Polysemania Blog
Don Ricklin

"polysemania" n [ "POLYSEMY" + "MANIA" ; syncope of polyseimania: compare mineralogy] (1985) an abnormal awareness of possible ambiguity; an uncontrollable tendency to bring to mind the inappropriate or unintended sense of a word in any context.

From an article Polysemania, Semantic Taint, and Related Conditions by John Ellison Kahn, appearing in Verbatim®, The Language Quarterly, Vol. XII, No. 3 Winter 1986.

Cataphor (W3)

...
"Cataphor" (plural: "cataphora") is a grammatical term describing a word or phrase that refers to something that is identified later in the sentence. For example, in the sentence:

"If you want them, there are cookies in the kitchen"

"them" is a "cataphor" - you don't know what "them" refers to until "cookies" comes along later in the sentence.

The significance of a piece of evidence is often not apparent until further information is revealed at a later time.

"Cataphora" is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable. Its literal meaning, in the original Greek, is "a lethargic attack", "a bringing down", "a fall".
...

• engl. "cataphora"
• dt. "Katapher"
• port. "catáfora"

Definition:

the coreference of one expression with another expression which comes after it and provides the information necessary for its interpretation. This is often understood as an expression „referring“ forward to another expression.

Examples:

the relation of „one“ to „a towel“ in „If you need one, there’s a towel in the top drawer“.

"Backward anaphora": see "Cataphoric relation"

Cataphoric relation

SEMANTICS: the coreference relation between a pronoun and a noun phrase which follows the pronoun.

EXAMPLE: In "Everyone who knows her loves Mary" the NP "Mary" can corefer with the pronoun "her". Another term for a cataphoric relation is "backward anaphora".

• cataphor
• cataphora
• cataphoras
• cataphoretic
• cataphoric

cataphora (W3)

cataphora

Word Origin

the use of a word or phrase to refer to a following word or group of words, as the use of the phrase as follows.

Cataphora Cataphore Cataphorèse

cataphora

Definition - To refer forward to information in a sentence.
...

cataphora

What is cataphora?

Definition

"Cataphora" is the coreference of one expression with another expression which follows it. The following expression provides the information necessary for interpretation of the preceding one.

This is often understood as an expression “referring” forward to another expression.
...

"Cataphora"

Definition:

Words or phrases like pronouns are cataphora when they point forwards to something later on in the text:

As he was unaccustomed to it, Jake found the pressure very hard to deal with.

Here, it is cataphoric because it refers forwards to the noun "pressure".

festschrift-gerd-fritz.de
Fritz, Gerd
Theories of meaning change

To appear in:
Maienborn, Claudia / von Heusinger, Klaus / Portner, Paul (eds.):
Semantics. An International Handbook of Natural Language Meaning.
Berlin/New York.

Gerd Fritz, Gießen (Germany)

113. Theories of meaning change - an overview

• 1. Basic issues of historical semantics
• 2. 19th century historical semasiology and the ideational theory of meaning
• 3. Diachronic structural semantics
• 4. Cognitive semantics
• 5. Theories of grammaticalization
• 6. Meaning as use and pragmatic semantics
• 7. Formal semantics and pragmatics
• 8. Conclusion
• 9. References

Alexiadou, Artemis (Herausgeber)
Rathert, Monika (Herausgeber)
The Semantics of Nominalizations across Languages and Frameworks
(Interface Explorations)

Kurzbeschreibung
The volume explores the semantics of nominalizations from different theoretical points of view: formal and lexical semantics, cognitive-functional grammar, lexical-functional grammar, discourse representation theory. Data from a variety of languages are taken into account, including Hungarian, Italian, French, German and English. The papers discuss the semantics of distinct readings of nominalizations and meaning differences observed between competing affixes.

Über den Autor
Artemis Alexiadou, University of Stuttgart, Germany. Monika Rathert, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Germany.

2010 | Hardcover | RRP Euro [D] 99.95 / for USA, Canada, Mexico US$ 140.00. * ISBN 978-3-11-022653-9 Reihe: Interface Explorations [IE] 22

Bornkessel, Ina (Ed.)
Schlesewsky, Matthias
Comrie, Bernard
Friederici, Angela D.
Semantic Role Universals and Argument Linking

Semantic roles have long played a major role in all domains of linguistic explanation on account of their undisputed suitability as interface representations between syntax and semantics. By focusing on semantic roles and argument linking from such diverse perspectives as grammatical theories, language typology, psycho-/neurolinguistics and language disorders, the present volume encourages a new degree of cross-fertilisation in this important linguistic domain.

Geeraerts, Dirk
Words and Other Wonders
Papers on Lexical and Semantic Topics

The volume brings together seventeen previously published articles on lexical and semantic topics by one of the most influential authors in cognitive linguistic lexicology. Spanning the period from the late 1980s to recent years, the collection features a number of papers that may be considered classics. The book serves as an excellent introduction to the field.

Glynn, Dylan / Fischer, Kerstin
Quantitative Methods in Cognitive Semantics
Corpus-Driven Approaches

Reihe: Cognitive Linguistics Research [CLR] 46

Produktinfo
In line with the increasing use of empirical methods in Cognitive Linguistics, the current volume explores the uses of quantitative, in particular corpus-driven, techniques for the study of meaning. It shows how these techniques contribute to the core theoretical issues of Cognitive Semantics as well as how they inform semantic analysis. The research presented in the volume constitutes an important step towards an Empirical Cognitive Semantics.

Majer, Ondrej (Herausgeber)
Pietarinen, Ahti-Veikko (Herausgeber)
Tulenheimo, Tero (Herausgeber)
Games: Unifying Logic, Language, and Philosophy
Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science

Kurzbeschreibung
This volume presents mathematical game theory as an interface between logic and philosophy. It provides a discussion of various aspects of this interaction, covering new technical results and examining the philosophical insights that these have yielded. Organized in four sections it offers a balanced mix of papers dedicated to the major trends in the field: the dialogical approach to logic, Hintikka-style game-theoretic semantics, game-theoretic models of various domains (including computation and natural language) and logical analysis of game-theoretic situations. This volume will be of interest to any philosopher concerned with logic and language. It is also relevant to the work of argumentation theorists, linguists, economists, computer scientists and all those concerned with the foundational aspects of these disciplines.

Games: Unifying Logic, Language, and Philosophy
Series: Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science , Vol. 15
Majer, Ondrej; Pietarinen, Ahti-Veikko; Tulenheimo, Tero (Eds.)
2009, XXIV, 380 p., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4020-9373-9

Written for: Logicians, philosophers, mathematicians, linguists, computer scientists
Keywords: Computation | Dialogue | Game theory | Logic | Semantics