Introduction

Abstract

The first, introductory, chapter summarizes two basic features of natural language interpretation. The first, methodological and essentially Fregean, insight is that it is a compositional process; the second, more philosophical, insight is that it is essentially indexical, to borrow a term from John Perry. The second insight is also acknowledged by Gottlob Frege, and ignored by many others, for logically sound reasons, but unfortunate for the understanding of natural language.