Optimality Theory and Lexical Interpretation and Selection

This chapter argues for an optimization approach to the selection and interpretation of words. Several advantages of such an approach to lexical semantics are discussed. First of all, it will be argued that competition, entailing that words and interpretations are always judged in relation to other candidates, may explain the lack of straightforward rules and the problems with finding necessary and sufficient features in defining the meaning of words. Next, the chapter discusses how an optimality approach to word meaning makes it easier to explain how we derive detailed and specific representations of the language we interpret. Finally, the chapter shows that the proposed framework is compatible with a well-known phenomenon in the psycholinguistic literature: suppression.