QUESTION 2, 4 points (adapted from Altshuler et al., A Course in Semantics) Consider the two...

 

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QUESTION 2, 4 points (adapted from Altshuler et al., A Course in Semantics) Consider the two following passages (labeled SCAN and MEDICAL): (SCAN) A House subcommittee on Wednesday lambasted body scanners and pat-downs used by the Transportation Security Administration. Earlier in the meeting, some members of the panel said the scans were ineffective because every passenger was not examined. Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Policy Stewart Baker defended the randomization, saying that knowing a scan was possible acted as a deterrent for would-be terrorists. (MEDICAL) He couldn't figure out why there were so many complaints about the medical care on the ship. He assumed that some passengers may not have been examined after the outbreak, but surely most of them were. Then he went back to the records, and he was horrified to learn that every passenger was not examined. [A] The sentence every passenger was not examined occurs in both passages, but with different readings. Indeed, in many dialects of English, the sentence is ambiguous. Provide two paraphrases for that sentence, one for each reading. The paraphrase that corresponds to the first passage should be labeled (SCAN) and the paraphrase that corresponds to the second one should be labeled (MEDICAL). Your paraphrases should capture the meaning of the sentence and nothing more (so it should describe passengers and examining, but not other information contained in the discourse - such as ships or scanning). Your paraphrases should be unambiguous. The point of the paraphrase is to single out a particular reading. [B] Assume that Ted and Mia are passengers, and no one else is a passenger. Describe a situation in which every passenger was not examined is true on one of its two readings and false on the other. Indicate which reading is false in that situation, and which is true. [C] Is the ambiguity of every passenger was not examined structural? Why? [D] Is the ambiguity of every passenger was not examined the same kind of ambiguity felt in Ted has the correct form? Why? 2 QUESTION 2, 4 points (adapted from Altshuler et al., A Course in Semantics) Consider the two following passages (labeled SCAN and MEDICAL): (SCAN) A House subcommittee on Wednesday lambasted body scanners and pat-downs used by the Transportation Security Administration. Earlier in the meeting, some members of the panel said the scans were ineffective because every passenger was not examined. Former Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Policy Stewart Baker defended the randomization, saying that knowing a scan was possible acted as a deterrent for would-be terrorists. (MEDICAL) He couldn't figure out why there were so many complaints about the medical care on the ship. He assumed that some passengers may not have been examined after the outbreak, but surely most of them were. Then he went back to the records, and he was horrified to learn that every passenger was not examined. [A] The sentence every passenger was not examined occurs in both passages, but with different readings. Indeed, in many dialects of English, the sentence is ambiguous. Provide two paraphrases for that sentence, one for each reading. The paraphrase that corresponds to the first passage should be labeled (SCAN) and the paraphrase that corresponds to the second one should be labeled (MEDICAL). Your paraphrases should capture the meaning of the sentence and nothing more (so it should describe passengers and examining, but not other information contained in the discourse - such as ships or scanning). Your paraphrases should be unambiguous. The point of the paraphrase is to single out a particular reading. [B] Assume that Ted and Mia are passengers, and no one else is a passenger. Describe a situation in which every passenger was not examined is true on one of its two readings and false on the other. Indicate which reading is false in that situation, and which is true. [C] Is the ambiguity of every passenger was not examined structural? Why? [D] Is the ambiguity of every passenger was not examined the same kind of ambiguity felt in Ted has the correct form? Why? 2

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

A Paraphrases SCAN Not all passengers underwent examination MEDICAL All passengers underwent examina... View the full answer