Linguistic Society of America The Structure of a Semantic Theory Author(s): Jerrold J. Katz and Jerry A. Fodor Source: Language, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun., 1963), pp. 170-210 Published by: Linguistic Society of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/411200 . Accessed: 22/01/2014 11:13 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Linguistic Society of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Language. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 193.219.45.7 on Wed, 22 Jan 2014 11:13:27 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE STRUCTURE OF A SEMANTIC THEORY JERROLDJ. KATZ JERRY A. FODOR MassachusettsInstitute of Technology 1. Introduction.This paperl does not attempt to present a semantic theory of a natural language,but rather to characterizethe form of such a theory. A semantic theory of a natural languageis part of a linguisticdescription of that language. Our problem, on the other hand, is part of the general theory of language, fully on a par with the problem of characterizingthe structure of grammarsof natural languages. A characterizationof the abstract form of a semantic theory is given by a metatheory which answers such questions as these: What is the domain of a semantictheory? What are the descriptiveand explanatory goals of a semantic theory? What mechanismsare employed in pursuit of these goals? What are the empiricaland methodologicalconstraints upon a semantic theory? The present paper approachesthe problem of characterizingthe form of semantic theories by describingthe structureof a semantic theory of English.