On the Computational Character of Semantic Structures

Abstract

Logical form in logic and logical form (LF) in the Minimalist architecture of language are two different forms of representational models of semantic facts. They are distinct in their form and in how they represent some natural language phenomena. This paper aims to argue that the differences between logical form and LF have profound implications for the question about the nature of semantic interpretation. First, this can tell us whether semantic interpretation is computational and if so, in what sense. Second, this can also shed light on the ontology of semantic interpretation in the sense that the forms (that is, logical form and LF) in which semantic facts are expressed may also uncover where in the world semantic interpretation as such can be located. This can have surprising repercussions for reasoning in natural language as ell.