Non-definiteness and Plurality
Title | Non-definiteness and Plurality PDF eBook |
Author | Svetlana Vogeleer |
Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing |
Pages | 367 |
Release | 2006-01-01 |
Genre | Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | 9027233594 |
This collection of studies by leading scholars in the field focuses on the semantics of non-definite (bare and indefinite) plural NPs. The contributions in the first part concentrate on bare plurals and their cross-linguistic counterparts. They discuss applicability of the notion of 'semantic incorporation' to bare plurals by contrasting them to bare singulars, with the aim of accounting for the interaction between the semantics of number and the degree of (in)dependency of the NP with respect to the verb. The articles in the second part examine the relationship between the semantics of number and the semantics of aspect. The contributions in the third part concentrate on non-definite numerical noun phrases by addressing a range of fundamental questions such as: the semantics of indefinite time-phrases, numericals in classifier- and non-classifier languages, scope interactions, the at least- and exactly-readings, referential properties of numericals. The volume will be welcomed by linguists interested in the semantics of number in non-definite NPs.
Genericity
Title | Genericity PDF eBook |
Author | Alda Mari |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Pages | 459 |
Release | 2013 |
Genre | Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | 0199691819 |
This book provides an up-to-date introduction to the study of generics. It gathers new work from senior and young researchers and is organized along three main areas of study: the generic and individuals; genericity and time; and the sources of genericity and types of judgment.
The Role of Alternatives in Language
Title | The Role of Alternatives in Language PDF eBook |
Author | Sophie Repp |
Publisher | Frontiers Media SA |
Pages | 267 |
Release | 2021-06-21 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 2889668401 |
Creoles, Their Substrates, and Language Typology
Title | Creoles, Their Substrates, and Language Typology PDF eBook |
Author | Claire Lefebvre |
Publisher | John Benjamins Publishing |
Pages | 641 |
Release | 2011-01-01 |
Genre | Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | 9027206767 |
Since creole languages draw their properties from both their substrate and superstrate sources, the typological classification of creoles has long been a major issue for creolists, typologists, and linguists in general. Several contradictory proposals have been put forward in the literature. For example, creole languages typologically pair with their superstrate languages (Chaudenson 2003), with their substrate languages (Lefebvre 1998), or even, creole languages are alike (Bickerton 1984) such that they constitute a definable typological class (McWhorter 1998). This book contains 25 chapters bearing on detailed comparisons of some 30 creoles and their substrate languages. As the substrate languages of these creoles are typologically different, the detailed investigation of substrate features in the creoles leads to a particular answer to the question of how creoles should be classified typologically. The bulk of the data show that creoles reproduce the typological features of their substrate languages. This argues that creoles cannot be claimed to constitute a definable typological class."
Cross-Categorial Classification
Title | Cross-Categorial Classification PDF eBook |
Author | Serge Sagna |
Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |
Pages | 290 |
Release | 2022-03-07 |
Genre | Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | 3110636328 |
Languages in which non-finite verbs (infinitives, gerunds etc.) are classified using the same linguistic means as nouns are rare. This typologically unusual phenomenon is found in some Atlantic (Niger-Congo) languages, including Jóola languages like Eegimaa, Fogny and Kwatay, where several different noun class/gender prefixes (NCPs) are used to classify both nouns and verbs. In this book, it is argued following Sagna (2008), that these parallel morphosyntactic classifications in the nominal domain and verbal domains also reflect parallel semantic categorisation of entities and events. The main topics investigated in this book are word class flexibility between nouns and verbs, non-finiteness, noun class/gender (where morphological classes are analysed separately from agreement classes) and the semantic principles underlying the categorisation of entities and events. One of the central findings proposed in this book is that instances of NCP alternations on non-finite verbs reflect strategies of event delimitation. This book will be of interest to scholars investigation parts-of-speech systems, finiteness, systems of nominal and verbal classification, and linguistic categorization.
Studies in Language
Title | Studies in Language PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Pages | 564 |
Release | 2009 |
Genre | Electronic journals |
ISBN |
Disentangling Bare Nouns and Nominals Introduced by a Partitive Article
Title | Disentangling Bare Nouns and Nominals Introduced by a Partitive Article PDF eBook |
Author | Tabea Ihsane |
Publisher | Syntax and Semantics |
Pages | 344 |
Release | 2020-10-29 |
Genre | Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | 9789004431126 |
"This volume edited by Tabea Ihsane focuses on different aspects of the distribution, semantics, and internal structure of nominal constituents with a "partitive article" in its indefinite interpretation and of potentially corresponding bare nouns. It further deals with diachronic issues, such as grammaticalization and evolution in the use of "partitive articles". The outcome is a snapshot of current research into "partitive articles" and the way they relate to bare nouns, in a cross-linguistic perspective and on new data: the research covers noteworthy data (fieldwork data and corpora) from Standard languages---like French and Italian, but also German---to dialectal and regional varieties, including endangered ones like Francoprovençal"--