The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory - (Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics) 2nd Edition by Shalom Lappin & Chris Fox (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

• Features completely new content from the first edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory
• Features contributions by leading semanticists, who introduce core areas of contemporary semantic research, while discussing current research
• Suitable for graduate students for courses in semantic theory and for advanced researchers as an introduction to current theoretical work

From the Back Cover

"The second edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory surveys the field from a completely fresh perspective, with a new emphasis on formalisms and methods, and a closer focus on a wider range of phenomena than its distinguished predecessor. It will be read by linguists, philosophers, computational linguists, cognitive scientists, and others seeking to comprehend the continuing developments and rapid progress that have occurred in this area over the intervening decades."
Mark Steedman, University of Edinburgh, UK

The study of the semantics of natural language has evolved rapidly over the last two decades. Reflecting great strides made in the field, the second edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory presents a detailed and systematic view of cutting-edge research, methodologies, and developments in contemporary theoretical and computational semantics. New and revised contributions by leading international semanticists highlight the radical shift in methods and theories that now shape linguistic semantic research. These include the application of modern computational techniques, type theory, and probabilistic models--methodologies that capture previously untapped subtleties of meaning and interpretation in natural language. The chapters of the Handbook also show these recent innovations have brought semantics into closer collaboration with ongoing research in computer science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science.

Forward-looking and timely, the second edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory provides insights into the bold new ideas that are now shaping research in semantic theory.

Review Quotes

"The second edition of The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory surveys the field from a completely fresh perspective, with a new emphasis on formalisms and methods, and a closer focus on a wider range of phenomena than its distinguished predecessor. It will be read by linguists, philosophers, computational linguists, cognitive scientists, and others seeking to comprehend the continuing developments and rapid progress that have occurred in this area over the intervening decades."

Mark Steedman, University of Edinburgh, UK

About the Author

Shalom Lappin is Emeritus Professor of Computational Linguistics at King's College London, UK, a Fellow of the British Academy, and a Member of the Academia Europaea. He is currently Director of the Centre for Linguistic Theory and Studies in Probability at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Visiting Professor in the Cognitive Science Group in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London, UK. He is co-editor, with Alexander Clark and Chris Fox, of The Handbook of Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing (Wiley Blackwell, 2010), co-author, with Alexander Clark, of Linguistic Nativism and the Poverty of the Stimulus (Wiley Blackwell, 2011), and co-author of Foundations of Intensional Semantics (with Chris Fox, Blackwell, 2005).

Chris Fox is a Reader in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, UK. He is the author of The Ontology of Language (2000) and co-author of Foundations of Intensional Semantics (with Shalom Lappin, Blackwell, 2005).