Context and Information in Dynamic Semantics

摘要

The paper was written as a reaction to a paper by Harry Bunt, entitled 'Towards a dynamic interpretation theory of utterances in dialogue'. The primary concern in the paper is an assessment of the relationship between the approach of pragmatic interpretation and the kind of 'dynamic semantics' that the authors have developed as a method for the partial analysis of semantic content. Superficially, both deal with context, information, and updating of information, but a closer scrutiny of the principles underlying dynamic semantics will reveal that they do so in different ways, and with different goals. It is important to get a clear picture of the various roles that the notion of context plays. Therefore, it starts with a short, general discussion of these matters, and turns to an exposition of dynamic semantics only after that. It follows up with a discussion of Bunt's criticisms and alternatives, making some suggestions as to how to overcome the limitations of the particular system of dynamic semantics that Bunt signalizes.