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This discussion is about linguistic competence — the ability of speakers to understand their language. Our focus, in particular, is on semantic competence, an ability to interpret language. To see its theoretical interest, consider an unusual description of a familiar type of phenomenon. John sees Mary searching for something in her living room. He surmises she has misplaced her scarf. Remembering recently having seen it under the table, he believes that if she knew what he remembered it would facilitate her search. He takes a short breath; the air in his lungs releases at a slow steady rate; his vocal folds contract and relax in an elaborate fashion; and as the air passes into his mouth, his jaw, lips and tongue move in complicated ways, all of which serve to create a specific vibratory pattern, which sounds like an utterance of, "I saw your scarf under the table'. The sound pattern bounces off sensitive bits of tissue in Mary's inner ear, and shortly afterwards, her search ceases with the scarf recovered.

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-1986-9_20

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