http://glottopedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Opaque_context Opaque context - Revision history 2026-11-13T04:58:47Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.45.6 http://glottopedia.org/index.php?title=Opaque_context&diff=8068&oldid=prev Wohlgemuth: utrecht 2009-02-18T10:44:59Z <p>utrecht</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>&#039;&#039;&#039;Opaque context&#039;&#039;&#039; is a [[context]] in which substitution of two expressions with the same [[reference]] [[salva veritate]] (i.e. keeping the [[truth value]] constant) is impossible. The verb &#039;&#039;hope&#039;&#039; in (ia) creates an opaque context. This can be seen by replacing &#039;&#039;the murderer of Smith&#039;&#039; with an expression which is assumed to have the same reference (in this case &#039;&#039;John&#039;s brother&#039;&#039;). The result in (ic) is a sentence which does not need to have the same truth value as (ia). One has only to imagine a situation in which John does not know that his beloved brother is the unknown murderer.<br /> <br /> (i) a John hopes that the murderer of Smith will be hanged<br /> b The murderer of Smith is his (i.e. John&#039;s) brother<br /> c John hopes that his brother will be hanged<br /> <br /> Many different elements may create opaque contexts: words that express propositional attitudes (like &#039;&#039;know&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;believe, fear&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;hate&#039;&#039;), verbs like &#039;&#039;seek&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;want&#039;&#039;, temporal and modal expressions. Contexts of direct and indirect speech may also be opaque contexts. The pattern in (i) can be explained by making a distinction between [[extension]] and [[intension]]. &#039;&#039;The murderer of Smith&#039;&#039; and &#039;&#039;John&#039;s brother&#039;&#039; may have the same extension in a particular situation, but their intension, their meaning is different. A context which not opaque is called a transparent context.<br /> <br /> === Links ===<br /> <br /> [http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Opaque+context&amp;lemmacode=473 Utrecht Lexicon of Linguistics]<br /> <br /> === References ===<br /> <br /> * Gamut, L.T.F. 1991. &#039;&#039;Logic, language, and meaning,&#039;&#039; Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago.<br /> <br /> {{dc}}<br /> [[Category:Semantics]]</div> Wohlgemuth