Nick Tasker
Leeds
"The real problem with the form-theoretic view of words"
The view that words are kinds of sounds and shapes (the form-theoretic view, FT) remains relatively popular, despite attracting criticism. I argue that extant objections fail to completely discredit the view, especially given that the intuitive motivation for FT has rarely been carefully articulated and evaluated. I argue that FT’s appeal lies in a tempting but misleading conception of the processes involved in word recognition. I expose the misconception, thereby undermining FT. Still, a theory of words ought to say something about the formal features of utterances and inscriptions: Kaplan (1990) was wrong to think that form was irrelevant to word type. I try to thread the needle, drawing on Thomasson's (2014) work on public artefacts.
Leeds
"The real problem with the form-theoretic view of words"
The view that words are kinds of sounds and shapes (the form-theoretic view, FT) remains relatively popular, despite attracting criticism. I argue that extant objections fail to completely discredit the view, especially given that the intuitive motivation for FT has rarely been carefully articulated and evaluated. I argue that FT’s appeal lies in a tempting but misleading conception of the processes involved in word recognition. I expose the misconception, thereby undermining FT. Still, a theory of words ought to say something about the formal features of utterances and inscriptions: Kaplan (1990) was wrong to think that form was irrelevant to word type. I try to thread the needle, drawing on Thomasson's (2014) work on public artefacts.