Full Idea
How could we know whether a sentence is verifiable unless we already knew what it says?
Gist of Idea
Meaning must be known before we can consider verification
Source
William Lycan (Philosophy of Language [2000], Ch. 8)
Book Reference
Lycan,William G.: 'Philosophy of Language' [Routledge 2000], p.120
A Reaction
This strikes me as a devastating objection to verificationism. Lycan suggests that you can formulate a preliminary meaning, without accepting true meaningfulness. Maybe verification just concerns truth, and not meaning.