Linguistic and computational semantics
Brian Cantwell Smith · 1982
We argue that because the very concept of computation rests on notions of interpretation, the semantics of natural languages and the semantics of computational formalisms are in the deepest sense the same subject. The attempt to use computational formalisms in aid of an explanation of natural language semantics, therefore, is an enterprise that must be undertaken with particular care. We describe a framework for semantical analysis that we have used in the computational realm, and suggest that it may serve to underwrite computationally-oriented linguistic semantics as well. The major feature of this framework is the explicit recognition of both the declarative and the procedural import of meaningful expressions; we argue that whereas these two viewpoints have traditionally been taken as alternative, any comprehensive semantical theory must account for how both aspects of an expression contribute to its overall significance.