Representations without Representa: Content and Illusion in Linguistic Theory

Contemporary linguistic theory seeks to explain linguistic phenomena by way of the attribution of representations to speakers/hearers. A general philosophi-cal problem here arises concerning the apparent intentionality of representational states. A specific instance of this concern is how to understand the representation of a linguistic item when such an item does not exist independently of the representa-tion itself. The paper proposes a resolution of this quandary by way of reviving a method of hyphenation originally due to Goodman, which will be finessed and de-fended against a range of likely objections.