Vergauwen, A Metalogical Theory of Reference, Introduction, §6

by Corry Shores
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Roger Vergauwen

A Metalogical Theory of Reference: Realism and Essentialism in Semantics

Introduction: the Temperature of a Hot Topic

§6 Correspondence Theory: Hooking Language to Reality

Correspondence theories of meaning are another sort of semantic theory. These hold that

1) language is made of signs

2) there are real entities independent of language and language-users, and

3) meaning is the relation or 'correspondence' between language's signs and their respective real entities.

In these theories, truth is the relation between language and states of affairs in the world.

And, they must explain what meaning is, as well as the nature of the correspondence-relation between signs and external reality. The internal semantics would be the relations between signs. The external semantics would be the relations between signs and real things or states of affairs in the world.

In fact, the question of whether language can even refer at all to external affairs is the central problem of any language philosophy or logical semantics of natural language.

So this book's aim is not just to present a theory of meaning. It will also give a theory of reference, which will explain the relations between language and the external reality it refers-to. Hence the correspondence theory will remain present in the background of our efforts.

(page xii-xiii)

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Vergauwen, Roger. A Metalogical Theory of Reference: Realism and Essentialism in Semantics. London: University Press of America, 1993.