37.1350, Confs: Forms of Context-Sensitivity 2 (Portugal)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1350. Wed Apr 08 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.1350, Confs: Forms of Context-Sensitivity 2 (Portugal)

Moderator: Steven Moran (linguist at linguistlist.org)
Managing Editor: Valeriia Vyshnevetska
Team: Helen Aristar-Dry, Mara Baccaro, Daniel Swanson
Jobs: jobs at linguistlist.org | Conferences: callconf at linguistlist.org | Pubs: pubs at linguistlist.org

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

Editor for this issue: Valeriia Vyshnevetska <valeriia at linguistlist.org>

================================================================


Date: 06-Apr-2026
From: Dan Zeman [danczeman at gmail.com]
Subject: Forms of Context-Sensitivity 2


Forms of Context-Sensitivity 2

Date: 14-Apr-2026 - 14-Apr-2026
Location: Porto, Portugal
Meeting URL:
https://ifilosofia.up.pt/activities/forms-context-sensitivity-2

Linguistic Field(s): Philosophy of Language; Semantics

Forms of Context-Sensitivity 2
April 14, 2026
University of Porto, Institute of Philosophy, Via Panorâmica s/n
4150-564 Porto, Sala de Reuniões 2
https://ifilosofia.up.pt/activities/forms-context-sensitivity-2
Description:
Many (if not most) expressions in natural languages are
context-sensitive, at least in the sense that the same sentences
comprising them, when uttered in different contexts, can intuitively
have different truth values. There are many ways in which this
phenomenon can come about. The meaning of many context-sensitive
expressions depends on the context in which they are uttered. Thus,
one of the most common forms of context-sensitivity is indexicality:
the meaning of expressions such as "I", "here", "now" etc. depends on
the speaker's situation. Other expressions are dependent on less
objective contextual factors, such as the speakers' beliefs,
intentions or preferences. Another source of this form of
context-sensitivity comes from the presuppositions the relevant
expressions trigger. Finally, many expressions are said to be
polysemous, with the exact meaning of a word in certain context being
determined by pragmatic mechanisms. But there are other ways in which
the context-sensitivity mentioned can manifest. For example, it has
been contended that the meaning of certain expressions  - and hence
the truth value of the sentences in which they occur - depends on the
content in which they are assessed.
In this second workshop, we explore some of these forms of
context-sensitivity, in relation to various natural language
expressions. We address questions such as what is the difference
between expressivsm and relativism, what are communicative intentions,
whether normative considerations should play a role in semantic
theorizing, what is the best account of dogwhitles, etc. - as well as
various crucial details that arise in connection to these questions.
Organization:
The workshop is organized by Dan Zeman and Alba Moreno Zurita.
Program:
13.50: Welcome
14.00-14.50: Eliot Michaelson & Henry Schiller (King's College
London), "What are Communicative Intentions?"
15.00-15.50: Tamara Dobler (Free University of Amsterdam), "Which Game
Are You Playing? Occasion-sensitivity and Gender Terms"
coffee break
16.10-17.00: Dan Zeman (University of Porto), "An
Assessment-Sensitivity Account of Dogwhistles"
17.10-18.00: Eduardo Perez Navarro (University of Santiago de
Compostela), "On the Relation between Relativism and Expressivism".
For more information, including the abstracts of th talks, visit
https://ifilosofia.up.pt/activities/forms-context-sensitivity-2. If
you want to participate, please write an email to danczeman at gmail.com.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------

********************** LINGUIST List Support ***********************
Please consider donating to the Linguist List, a U.S. 501(c)(3) not for profit organization:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=87C2AXTVC4PP8

LINGUIST List is supported by the following publishers:

Bloomsbury Publishing http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/

Cambridge University Press http://www.cambridge.org/linguistics

Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/

De Gruyter Brill https://www.degruyterbrill.com/?changeLang=en

Edinburgh University Press http://www.edinburghuniversitypress.com

European Language Resources Association (ELRA) http://www.elra.info

John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/

Language Science Press http://langsci-press.org

Lincom GmbH https://lincom-shop.eu/

MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/

Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/

Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/

Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com

SIL International Publications http://www.sil.org/resources/publications


----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-37-1350
----------------------------------------------------------