Lexical CompetenceLexical Competence
What does our ability to use words--that is, our lexical competence--consist of? Whatis the difference between a system that can be said to understand language and one that cannot? Mostapproaches to word meaning fail to account for an essential aspect of our linguistic competence,namely, our ability to apply words to the world. This monograph proposes a dual picture of humanlexical competence in which inferential and referential abilities are separate--a proposal confirmedby neuropsychological research on brain- damaged persons. According to the author, artificialsystems for natural-language understanding could come much closer to achieving their goal if theyconformed to this dual picture of competence. Topics discussed include classical issues in thephilosophy of language and the philosophy of mind such as the analytic/synthetic dichotomy, semanticholism, causal theories of reference, dual-factor theories, publicness, verificationism, andSearle's Chinese room.Language, Speech, Communication series
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- Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©1997.
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