MONTAGUE GRAMMAR, GENERATIVE SEMANTICS, AND INTERPRETIVE SEMANTICS

Abstract

This chapter discusses Montague grammar, generative semantics, and interpretive semantics. In Universal Grammar, Montague complains that work in transformational grammar is not yet rigorous enough to merit serious consideration. As an alternative, he gives a system of grammar that generates a fragment of English syntax and assigns meanings to the sentences so generated. The grammar generates only a portion of English, but it does so by means of a theory that meets the high standards of mathematical rigor and precision he advocates. Montague generates phrases of English by a many-claused recursive definition. Familiarity with this technique is presupposed here; for an exposition. Montague characterizes the translation relation as a particular relation between disambiguated languages. The syntax of the disambiguated language whose meaningful expressions are viably indexed trees consists of the following rules from the original C syntax. Both Montague's general approach and transformational grammar are capable of generating all recursively enumerable languages.