FORMAL SEMANTICS AND THE MEANING IN LITERARY DISCOURSE: BETWEEN PRECISION AND INTERPRETATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46763/Keywords:
formal semantics; literary meaning; ambiguity; polysemy; interpretive process; integrative approach.Abstract
This paper explores the subtle boundaries between formal semantics and the meaning in literary discourse, raising the question of whether strict logical systems can capture the complexity of the literary text. Formal semantics strives to construct a language that eliminates the ambiguities of everyday expression in order to achieve precision and objectivity. However, literature is characterized by ambiguity, polysemy, and cultural conditioning, which make it an “open system” that can hardly be fully reduced to formal rules.The paper examines this contrast through the parallel between language as a formal system and literature as a space of interpretation. Special attention is given to the role of the reader, the context, and the process of interpretation in the creation of meaning.The aim of the paper is to show that, while formal semantics offers clear and precise frameworks for the analysis of language, literature demonstrates the depth and complexity of meaning, which is always dynamic and interpretative. In this way, the necessity of combining semantic and hermeneutic perspectives for a more comprehensive understanding of the literary text is emphasized.The paper is based on a combined method of theoretical analysis and critical interpretation: formal semantics is examined through logical and semantic perspectives, while literary texts are analyzed through hermeneutic and semiotic approaches in order to identify ambiguity, polysemy, and contextual meaning.
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