The truth of sentence

One way of approaching meaning is to look

at the truth condition of sentences.

Truth conditions specify in exact terms the

circumstances that be obtained in order to
say (true or false)
Truth correspondence with facts

We can understand well formed sentences

of our language without knowing their truth
value.

If you don’t know the linguistic meaning you

could never determine its truth.
1
Semantic relation
Paraphrase/ entailment/ contradiction

1. paraphrase: two sentences that have the

same truth conditions (same meaning)
Tom purchased an automobile
Tom bought a car
Active-passive pairs are often paraphrase
but consider the following:
Every person here speaks two languages.
Two languages are spoken by every person
here
p,198

2
Entailment: one sentence entails another
when the second is a consequence of the
first as:
A : Alan lives in Cairo
B : Alan lives in Egypt

Note that the relationship of entailment is

unlike that of paraphrase:
A entails B but B doesn’t entail A

Contradiction
The truth of sentence implies the false of the
other:
My aunt is fatema
My aunt is Ali

identify the semantic relationship:

3
My brother is an only child.
Ann doesn’t have brothers
Ann doesn’t have male siblings