Alice Geraldine Baltina ter Meulen (born 4 March 1952) is a Dutch

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...

ian, and

philosopher of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, the ...

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 individuals ...

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 of ...

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 inclu ...

, and the linguistic representation of time. She is a

professor emerita ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

Education and career

Ter Meulen was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

on 4 March 1952. She studied philosophy and linguistics at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

, 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 Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

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 Born in Independence, ...

and philosopher

Julius Moravcsik Julius Matthew Emil Moravcsik (26 April 1931 – 3 June 2009) was an American philosopher who specialized in ancient Greek philosophy. His main professional interests were in Greek philosophy – especially Plato, Aristotle, and the pre-So ...

. After postdoctoral research at the

Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (German: ''Max-Planck-Institut für Psycholinguistik''; Dutch: ''Max Planck Instituut voor Psycholinguïstiek'') is a research institute situated on the campus of Radboud University Nijmegen located ...

and

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

, she became an assistant professor of linguistics at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

in 1984, and was tenured in 1989. She moved to

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

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 2003-2008 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 and Robert E. Wall, Kluwer, 1990). * ''Representing Time in Natural Language: The Dynamic Interpretation of Tense and Aspect'' (MIT Press, 1995) Her

edited volume An edited volume or edited collection is a collection of scholarly or scientific chapters written by different authors. The chapters in an edited volume are original works (not republished works). Alternative terms for edited volume are ''contribut ...

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 ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

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 sci ...

in 2003. She was president of the

European Society for Philosophy and Psychology The European Society for Philosophy and Psychology (ESPP) is a professional organization in Europe that promotes discussion and research at the intersection of philosophy, psychology and cognitive science. It is the European counterpart of the Am ...

for 2006–2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ter Meulen, Alice 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 University of Groningen faculty University of Geneva faculty Members of the Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

Education and career

Books

Recognition

See also

References