Countability in natural language / edited by Hana Filip.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Filip, Hana, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 297 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 3032.

Summary:

This book focuses on current theoretical and empirical research into countability in the nominal domain, and to a lesser extent in the verbal domain. The presented state-of-the-art studies are situated within compositional semantics combined with the theory of mereology, and draw on a wealth of data, some of which have hitherto been unknown, from a number of typologically distinct languages. Some contributions propose enrichments of classical extensional mereology with topological and temporal notions as well as with type theory and probabilistic models. The book also presents analyses that rely on cutting-edge empirical research (experimental, corpus-based) into meaning in language. It is suitable as a point of departure for original research or material for seminars in semantics, philosophy of language, psycholinguistics and other fields of cognitive science. It is of interest not only to a semanticist, but also to anybody who wishes to gain insights into the contemporary research into countability.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title

Title page

Copyright information

Contents

List of Contributors

Preface

Introduction

1 Countability

2 Papers in the Volume

References

1 Proportional Many/Much and Most

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Contrasts between Proportional MANY and Proportional MOST

1.3 Proportional MOST

1.3.1 Hackl (2009): Proportional Most as a Superlative Adjective

1.3.2 The Relative Reading of le plus de NP

1.3.3 No Absolute Reading for Superlative Quantitatives

1.3.4 The Proportional Reading of MOST

1.3.5 Explaining Why le plus Cannot Take the Proportional Reading

1.3.6 Entity-Restrictor Proportional Quantifiers

1.3.7 Explaining Why cel mai mult 'the mostmass' Cannot Take a Proportional Reading

1.3.8 Conclusions: Types of Quantificational Expressions

1.4 Proportional MANY

1.4.1 The Quantificational Analysis of Strong Indefinites

1.4.2 Strong Indefinite DPs Are E-Type Expressions

1.4.3 From Strong Cardinal Indefinites to Proportional MANY

1.4.4 The Proportional Reading of Strong MANY

1.5 Conclusions

2 Quantity Systems and the Count/Mass Distinction

2.1 The Nature of the Count/Mass Distinction

2.2 Quantity Expressions across Languages

2.2.1 The Notion of ''Quantity System''

2.2.2 Count, Non-Count and Anti-Count Quantity Expressions

2.2.3 Count Quantity Expressions across Languages

2.2.4 Non-Count and Anti-Count Quantity Expressions across Languages

2.2.5 Back to Quantity Systems

2.3 Count and Mass in the Lexicon: Properties of Nouns

2.3.1 Mass and/or Count Only Languages?

2.3.2 Available Count Meanings and Cross-Linguistic Variation

2.3.3 Count Meaning, ''Default Units of Counting'' and Abstraction

2.3.4 Properties of Nouns: Summary

2.4 Individuation Boosting and Degrees of Individuation

2.5 Conclusions

References.

3 Counting Aggregates, Groups and Kinds: Countability from the Perspective of a Morphologically Complex Language

3.1 Introduction: The Components of Countability and Their Interrelation

Primitives of Countability

The Nature of Aggregates

Nominal Flexibility

3.2 Countability in Czech: The Core Data

3.2.1 Derived Aggregates

3.2.2 Complex Numerals

3.2.2.1 Derived Group Numerals

3.2.2.2 Complex Numerals for Aggregates

3.2.2.3 Taxonomic Numerals

3.2.3 Restricted Nominal Flexibility

3.3 Interim Discussion

3.4 A Formal Treatment of Czech's Grammatical Number System

3.4.1 Nominal Semantics in Krifka (1995)

3.4.2 Taxonomic Interpretations and Numerals

3.5 Extending the Framework: Counting Groups and Aggregates

3.5.1 Group Numerals

3.5.2 Deriving and Counting Aggregates

3.5.2.1 Derived Mass Nouns

3.5.2.2 Aggregate Numerals

3.6 Outlook: Countability from the Perspective of Czech

4 Individuating Matter over Time

4.1 Meditations over a Cup of Tea

4.2 Parts

4.3 Atoms

4.4 Touching

4.5 Wholes

4.6 Time and Space

4.7 Movement

4.8 Solids, Liquids, Grains

4.9 Individuals and Their Parts

4.10 Cognitively Plausible Individuals

4.11 Sum Individuals

4.12 Reidentification of Matter

4.13 Splits and Combinations

4.14 Getting Rid of Entities?

4.15 Conclusion

5 Reduplication as Summation

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Reduplication as Summation: A Uniform Treatment

5.2.1 Reduplication in Nouns

5.2.2 Reduplication in Verbs

5.2.3 Reduplication in Adjectives

5.3 A Note on Reduplication in Other Languages

5.3.1 Bangla/Bengali

5.3.2 Sign Languages

5.4 Final Remarks

6 Iceberg Semantics for Count Nouns and Mass Nouns: How Mass Counts

Part I Aspects of Iceberg Semantics

6.1 Boolean Background.

6.2 Mountain Semantics and Iceberg Semantics

6.3 Disjointness and Counting

6.4 The Distinctions Mass, Count, Neat, Mess

6.5 Iceberg Semantics for DPs

6.6 Excursus: The Operation of Singular Shift

6.6.1 Portioning Coffee

6.6.2 Gillon's Problem

6.7 Compositionality: The Head Principle and the Semantics of Modifiers

6.8 Excursus: A Complex Modifier

Part II Measures and Portions: How Mass Counts

6.9 Measure Interpretations of Measure Phrases

6.10 Portion Interpretations of Measure Phrases

6.11 When Mass Counts

6.12 How Mass Counts

6.13 In Sum

Acknowledgements

Appendix The Mad Wigmaker

7 Indexical Inference: Counting and Measuring in Context

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Aspectual Modification of VP-Internal Numerical DPs

7.3 Numerical DPs as External Argument

7.4 The Dynamic Semantics of Aspectual Adverbs

7.5 DRT Semantics of Aspectual Adverbs with Numerical DPs

7.6 Presupposition Projection and Dialogue

7.7 Linguistic Variability: English, Dutch and French

7.8 Conclusions

8 Counting and Measuring and Approximation

8.1 The Data and the Problem

8.2 Formulating the Problem

8.3 Semantics for Counting and Measuring

8.3.1 Counting

8.3.2 Measuring

8.4 Quantity Evaluations

8.5 Cardinal Comparisons of Object Mass Nouns

8.6 Approximation

8.7 Russian Approximative Inversion

8.8 Cardinality Estimation in Mandarin

8.9 Why Must Count Nouns Be Counted?

Acknowledgments

9 The Count/Mass Distinction for Granular Nouns

9.1 Granular Nouns as a Notional Class

9.2 The Accessibility Puzzle

9.3 Background

9.3.1 Background: Granular Nouns in the Context of Current Mass/Count Theories

9.3.2 Formal Background: Extensional Mereology and Frame Semantics

9.4 The Mass/Count Distinction for Granular Nouns.

9.4.1 Basic Predicates

9.4.2 The Object Identifying Function ()

9.4.3 Individuation Schemas

Specific Individuation Schemas

The Null Individuation Schema

9.4.4 Lexical Entries

Prototypical Object Nouns Are [+O,+S] (cat):

Count Granular Nouns Are [+O,+S] (lentil):

Mass Granular Nouns Are [-O,-S] (cocka ['lentil', Czech], rice):

Substance Denoting Nouns Are [-O,-S] (mud):

Collective Artifact-Denoting Nouns Are [+O,+S] or [+O,-S]:

9.5 Semantics for Classifier-Like Expressions and Addressing the Accessibility Puzzle

9.5.1 Container Classifiers

9.5.2 Unit Extracting Classifiers

9.5.3 Addressing the Accessibility Puzzle

9.5.4 Implicit Unit Extracting Classifiers

9.5.5 Implicit Container Classifiers

9.5.6 The Importance of Granular Nouns in Mass/Count Theories

9.6 Conclusions and Comparisons

Appendix A Counting Constructions

Appendix B Composition with Verb Frames

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 11 Jun 2021).

ISBN:

1-316-83266-X

1-316-83623-1

1-316-82377-6

OCLC:

1257951737