Alice Ter Meulen
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Alice Geraldine Baltina ter Meulen (born 4 March 1952) is a Dutch
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
,
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
ian, and philosopher of language whose research topics include genericity in linguistics,
intensional logic Intensional logic is an approach to predicate logic that extends first-order logic, which has quantifiers that range over the individuals of a universe (''extensions''), by additional quantifiers that range over terms that may have such individu ...
,
generalized quantifier In formal semantics, a generalized quantifier (GQ) is an expression that denotes a set of sets. This is the standard semantics assigned to quantified noun phrases. For example, the generalized quantifier ''every boy'' denotes the set of sets o ...
s,
discourse representation theory In formal linguistics, discourse representation theory (DRT) is a framework for exploring meaning under a formal semantics approach. One of the main differences between DRT-style approaches and traditional Montagovian approaches is that DRT inc ...
, and the linguistic representation of time. She is a
professor emerita ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
at the
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
.


Education and career

Ter Meulen was born in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
on 4 March 1952. She studied philosophy and linguistics at the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1972 and master's degrees in philosophy and linguistics in 1976, all three degrees cum laude. She was granted a Ph.D. in philosophy of language at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1980; her dissertation, ''Substances, quantities and individuals: A study in the formal semantics of mass terms'', was jointly supervised by mathematical logician
Jon Barwise Kenneth Jon Barwise (; June 29, 1942 – March 5, 2000) was an American mathematician, philosopher and logician who proposed some fundamental revisions to the way that logic is understood and used. Education and career He was born in Indepen ...
and philosopher Julius Moravcsik. After postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and
University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, th ...
, she became an assistant professor of linguistics at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in 1984, and was tenured in 1989. She moved to
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
as an associate professor of Philosophy and Linguistics in 1989 and was promoted to full professor in 1996. She taught at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Utrecht, before moving to the University of Groningen in 1998, where she was appointed Professor of Modern English Linguistics, and given a personal chair in Semantic Theory and Cognitive Science in 2004. In 2009, she came to the University of Geneva as a research professor, from which she retired in 2016. She held visiting appointments at the University of Bucharest in Romania, and at the Beijing University of Languages and Linguistics. From 2003 to 2008 she was a member of the Dutch national science foundation NWO non-executive board, focusing on women scientist career prospects, ethnic minority recruitment for science, financial oversight and international relations. She served on numerous selection committees, international review boards for academic programs, and advisory boards in academia.


Books

Ter Meulen is the author or coauthor of: * ''Mathematical Methods in Linguistics'' (with
Barbara Partee Barbara Hall Partee (born June 23, 1940) is a Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Linguistics and Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass). She is known as a pioneer in the field of formal semantics. Biography Bo ...
and Robert E. Wall, Kluwer, 1990). * ''Representing Time in Natural Language: The Dynamic Interpretation of Tense and Aspect'' (MIT Press, 1995) Her
edited volume Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...
s include: * ''Studies in Modeltheoretic Semantics'' (De Gruyter, 1983) * ''Generalized Quantifiers in Natural Language'' (with Johan van Benthem, Foris, 1985) * ''On Conditionals'' (with Elizabeth C. Traugott, Judy Snitzer Reilly, and
Charles A. Ferguson Charles Albert Ferguson (July 6, 1921 – September 2, 1998) was an American linguist who taught at Stanford University. He was one of the founders of sociolinguistics and is best known for his work on diglossia. The TOEFL test was created under ...
, Cambridge University Press, 1986) * ''The Representation of (in)definiteness'' (with Eric J. Reuland, MIT Press, 1987) * ''Handbook of Logic and Language'' (with Johan van Benthem, MIT Press, 1997; 2nd ed., Elsevier, 2011) * ''The Composition of Meaning: From lexeme to discourse'' (with Werner Abraham, John Benjamins Publishing, 2004)


Recognition

Ter Meulen was elected to the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...
in 2000, and to the
Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen The ''Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen'' (Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities), located on the east side of the Spaarne in downtown Haarlem, Netherlands, was established in 1752 and is the oldest society for the ...
in 2003. She was president of the European Society for Philosophy and Psychology for 2006–2008.


See also

* Jack Hoeksema, linguist and professor in the Department of Dutch Language and Culture


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meulen, Alice ter 1952 births Living people Linguists from the Netherlands Women linguists Dutch women social scientists Dutch logicians Dutch women philosophers University of Amsterdam alumni Stanford University alumni University of Washington faculty Indiana University Bloomington faculty Academic staff of the University of Groningen Academic staff of the University of Geneva Members of the Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences