Lotte Dam

The interpretation of encapsulating anaphors in Spanish and their functions

Abstract Encapsulating anaphors differ from other types of anaphor by having one or more situations - not an entity - as its referent. The main aim of the article is to propose a hypothesis for how anaphoric encapsulation is resolved. The hypothesis builds on the cognitive linguistic theory of instructional semantics to suggest that anaphoric encapsulation provides instructions for the interpretive process, leading to the resolution of the anaphoric relation. A secondary aim is to illustrate various functions of this type of anaphor

Instructions, context and compositionality: How to combine functional, lexical and interpretive dimensions of meaning

Abstract The purpose of this article is to give an overview of how the construction of meaning may be explained, from the point of view of Instructional Semantics as the authors see it. A number of examples are discussed, primarily to illustrate the explanatory power of the framework, but also to illustrate its weak points. It is argued that meaning is established in an interpretive process initiated by linguistic expressions. The distinction between lexemes and functional items is applied to account for the systematic ways in which linguistic expressions contribute to the process. It is furthermore shown how language interacts dialectically with context in the construction of meaning. The term ‘meaning’ will be used throughout about both the initial semantic ‘input’, and about the output that is constructed as a result of the process described above. When there is a risk of confusion, we will use the term ‘instructional meaning’ about the linguistic input.

The Semantics of The Spanish Adjective Positions: a Matter of Focus

Abstract This paper presents a hypothesis about Spanish adjective position that accounts for different occurrences in language use. The hypothesis is based on the idea that the modifier position itself is a meaningful sign and that the meaning of the modifier position is related to focus: the postnominal modifier creates focus, whereas the prenominal modifier does not create focus. Drawing on the analysis of examples from a text corpus, the paper suggests that the proposed meaning of the two positions offers an account of various empirical phenomena. For example, it can explain why some adjectives are normally placed in one of the positions and why some adjectives change meaning according to their position.

Diachronic and Synchronic Analysis - the Case of the Indirect Object in Spanish

This review article deals with a monograph on the indirect object in Spanish. The book offers a many-faceted analysis of the indirect object, as it, on the one hand, gives a detailed diachronic analysis of what is known as clitic-doubled constructions and, on the other, a synchronic analysis of both predicative constructions with an indirect object and the relationship between the notion of perspective and the indirect object. The general impression is that the author has produced an impressive analytical work, which, however, is not easily accessible.