Sentential semantics refers to the study of meaning at the sentence level in linguistics.

It focuses
on how individual words combine according to syntactic rules to form sentences and how these
sentences convey meaning. Unlike lexical semantics, which deals with the meanings of
individual words, sentential semantics is concerned with how those word meanings are
structured in sentences to communicate a proposition, statement, or question.
Key Concepts in Sentential Semantics
1. Sentence Meaning vs. Speaker Meaning:
o Sentence Meaning: The literal meaning of a sentence as derived from its
structure and the meanings of its individual components (words). It is independent
of context and speaker intention.
o Speaker Meaning: The intended meaning of the speaker, which may differ from
the literal meaning based on context, tone, or situational factors.
For example:
o Sentence: “It’s cold in here.”
o Sentence meaning: A statement about the temperature.
o Speaker meaning: A request to close the window, based on the context.
2. Compositionality:
o The Principle of Compositionality (or Frege’s Principle) states that the meaning
of a sentence is determined by the meanings of its constituent parts (words or
phrases) and the syntactic rules governing their combination.
o For example, the sentence "John loves Mary" derives its meaning from the
meanings of "John," "loves," and "Mary," as well as the syntactic structure that
tells us John is the subject and Mary is the object.
3. Propositions:
o A proposition is the meaning or content of a declarative sentence, which can be
true or false. In sentential semantics, propositions are central, as sentences are
often analyzed in terms of the propositions they express.
o Example:
 Sentence: “The cat is on the mat.”
 Proposition: The state of affairs where a particular cat is located on a
specific mat.
 Truth Value: If the cat is indeed on the mat, the proposition is true; if not,
it is false.
4. Truth Conditions:
o Sentential semantics often analyzes sentences in terms of their truth conditions
—the conditions under which a sentence would be true or false. This helps in
understanding the relationship between language and the world.
o For instance:
 Sentence: “The sky is blue.”
 Truth condition: The sentence is true if the sky is blue at the time and
place in question.
o Truth conditions are fundamental to understanding how sentences connect with
real-world states of affairs.
5. Entailment and Presupposition:
o Entailment: A relationship between sentences where the truth of one sentence
guarantees the truth of another. For example:
 Sentence A: “John has a dog.”
 Sentence B: “John has a pet.”
 If Sentence A is true, Sentence B must also be true (entailment).
o Presupposition: A background assumption that must be true for a sentence to
make sense. For example:
 Sentence: “John stopped smoking.”
 Presupposition: John used to smoke.
6. Quantification:
o Sentential semantics also deals with quantifiers like "all," "some," "none," and
"most," which affect the meaning of sentences. Quantifiers determine how many
members of a set satisfy a particular condition.
o Example:
 Sentence: “All dogs are friendly.”
 Meaning: Every member of the set of dogs has the property of being
friendly.
o Quantification introduces complexity in truth conditions and meaning, especially
in sentences involving multiple quantifiers.
7. Modality:
 o Modality refers to expressions of possibility, necessity, and other related notions.
Modals like "can," "must," "should," "might," etc., affect the truth conditions of
sentences.
o Example:
 Sentence: “John might come to the party.”
 Meaning: There is a possibility that John will come to the party.
o Modality introduces different layers of meaning, allowing sentences to express
more than just factual statements.
8. Tense and Aspect:
o Tense (e.g., past, present, future) and aspect (e.g., completed vs. ongoing actions)
also play a crucial role in determining sentential meaning. These grammatical
features help locate actions or states in time.
o Example:
 Sentence: “John is running.”
 Tense: Present.
 Aspect: Progressive, indicating an ongoing action.
o The meaning of this sentence is affected by both when the action occurs (present)
and whether it is continuous (progressive aspect).
9. Syntactic Ambiguity and Semantic Ambiguity:
o Syntactic Ambiguity: When a sentence can have multiple interpretations due to
its structure. Example:
 Sentence: “I saw the man with the telescope.”
 Ambiguity: Did I use the telescope to see the man, or was the man holding
the telescope?
o Semantic Ambiguity: When a word or phrase can have multiple meanings.
Example:
 Sentence: “Bank.”
 Ambiguity: It could mean the side of a river or a financial institution.
10. Context Dependence and Pragmatics:
o Sentential meaning can change based on context. For example, pronouns like
“he” or “she” depend on contextual information to identify their referents.
 o Pragmatics: Sentential semantics overlaps with pragmatics, which is concerned
with how context influences meaning. Pragmatic aspects like implicature, speech
acts, and context all affect how sentences are interpreted beyond their literal
meaning.
Example Analysis of a Sentence in Sentential Semantics
Consider the sentence: "The cat chased the mouse."
 Compositionality: The meaning of the sentence comes from the meanings of "the cat,"
"chased," and "the mouse," as well as the syntactic structure (Subject-Verb-Object).
 Proposition: The sentence expresses a proposition: the event where the cat chased the
mouse.
 Truth Conditions: The sentence is true if, in the real world, there is a specific cat and a
specific mouse, and the chasing event took place.
 Entailment: From this sentence, we can infer or entail that "The cat was moving" (since
chasing requires movement).
 Modality: If we modify the sentence to “The cat might chase the mouse,” it introduces
modality, expressing possibility instead of a factual event.
Conclusion
Sentential semantics explores how sentences convey meaning through structure, syntax, and the
combination of word meanings. It considers various aspects like truth conditions, quantification,
modality, and context, enabling a deeper understanding of how language represents ideas and
interacts with the world.