The Meaning of Reference in Embodied Construction Grammar

The ECG formalism is quite general, specifying only the ways to write and combine the four basic structure types: schemas, constructions, maps, and spaces. Grammars in ECG are deeply cognitive, with meaning being expressed in terms of conceptual primitives such as image schemas, force dynamics, etc. The hypothesis is that a modest number of universal primitives will suffice to provide the core meaning component for the grammar. Referent descriptors entered the ECG formalism as the way of specifying the participants in a semantic specification This note discusses how to specify entity-like referents, focuses on the key issues in Reference, and treats some of the more problematic ones in some detail. It assumes a general knowledge of the NTL paradigm and is not self contained.