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Compositionality

Compositionality is a principle in semantics and formal linguistics stating that the meaning of a complex expression is determined by the meanings of its parts and the way those parts are syntactically combined. It is closely associated with the idea that meanings are built up from smaller pieces in a systematic way, so that knowing the parts and the structure suffices to determine the whole.

In linguistics, compositionality underpins many formal theories of meaning, such as Montague semantics and categorial grammar.

In computer science, compositionality guides the design of programming language semantics. Denotational and operational approaches seek

Limitations and challenges include idioms, context-dependent expressions, and certain use-theory phenomena where literal compositional analysis fails.

A
canonical
claim
is
that
the
semantic
value
of
a
sentence
can
be
computed
by
function
application
to
the
semantic
values
of
its
constituents.
For
example,
the
sentence
“John
loves
Mary”
is
interpreted
as
the
application
of
the
love
relation
to
the
two
individuals,
yielding
a
truth-conditional
meaning.
This
framework
also
handles
modifiers,
quantifiers,
and
other
functional
expressions
through
higher-order
functions
and
lambda
abstraction.
to
assign
meanings
to
programs
in
a
way
that
preserves
structure:
the
meaning
of
a
compound
construct
is
determined
by
the
meanings
of
its
parts
and
the
rules
of
combination.
This
enables
modular
reasoning,
program
transformation,
and
formal
verification.
Extensions
such
as
dynamic
semantics,
presupposition
theory,
and
context-sensitive
approaches
broaden
the
scope
beyond
strict
compositionality.
Despite
limitations,
the
principle
remains
a
foundational
tool
for
systematic
analysis
of
meaning.