Interpretation of Definite Noun Phrases

Abstract

The paper addresses the referential properties of definite NPs and introduces a homogeneous framework for coping with ambiguities in reference and with the generic/specific and referential/attributive dichotomies. The basic assumption is that an ambiguous "logical form" is the most reasonable tool for carrying out the interpretation process without propagating existing ambiguities in unnecessary ways. The ambiguities in reference are shown to be analyzable perspicuously in terms of three independent parameters: the context, the world, and the time in which the sentence is used. Different readings of NP's arise from the fixing of one or more of these parameters, going from the most general (the "intension" or "concept", where nothing is fixed) to the least general (the usual "definite specific" reading, where all the parameters are fixed). Beyond the ambiguities in reference, the distinction between collective and distributive readings and the one between the readings we call relational and non relational are analyzed and the relationships among the different kinds of ambiguities are examined.