Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics
An assumption about situation(s) that must be given in order that certain sentences about the situation(s) can apply or be considered true. In the semantic description of natural languages, problems arise in regard to truth conditions in the following cases: (a) sentence types such as interrogatives or imperatives which, contrary to declaratives, are neither true nor false, (b) use of deictic expressions such as I, now, and here, whose contribution to determining truth values can only be analyzed depending on the given speech situation; (c) reference to different ‘possible words’ as they are created through verbs of believing or knowing (
intension, vagueness). The explication of truth conditions of sentences is seen in more recent grammatical theories (such as categorial grammar, Montague grammar) as the basic principle of an adequate description of language. Thus, the synonymy between two propositions can be defined as similarity or concordance of their truth conditions or of the situations in which these sentences are true. See Dummet (1975) for a criticism of the formulation of truth conditions as part of linguistic description.
References
Dummett, M.A.E.
1975. What is a theory of meaning? In S.Guttenplan(ed.),Mind and language. Oxford. 97–138.
——1976. What is a theory of meaning (II)? In G. Evans and J.Mcdowell (eds), Truth and meaning. Oxford. 67–137.
formal logic, possible world, truth value
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