Morphology-semantics mismatches and the nature of grammatical features / Peter W. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, P. W. (Peter W.), author.

Series:

Interface explorations ; Volume 35.

Interface Explorations ; Volume 35

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Semantics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (XIII, 268 p.)

Place of Publication:

Boston ; Berlin : Walter de Gruyter Inc., [2021]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Hybrid nouns have a morphological shape that doesn't match their semantic interpretation. Such nouns pose clear and interesting questions for the nature of grammatical features. For instance, how does a single feature contribute distinct information values to different components of the grammar? Furthermore, what does this observation reveal about the syntax, often taken to mediate between the morphology and the semantics?This book studies hybrid nouns and argues that a single grammatical feature is comprised of two halves, a semantic half and a morphological half, that coexist in the syntax before being sent to the respective interfaces. Viewing features in this way allows us a new look at numerous types of hybrid nouns, such as Imposter constructions, nouns of collection, as well as nouns like 'furniture' that straddle the mass-count distinction. Moreover, the study of the agreement patterns of hybrid nouns shows that semantic features behave differently to morphological features under agreement, providing a novel insight into the nature of the mechanism that underlies morphosyntactic agreement.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Contents

List of Tables

Abbreviations

Part I: A formal model of feature mismatches

1 Concerning hybrids

2 Theoretical preliminaries: A feature model for hybrid nouns?

Part II: Hybrid nouns and the syntax of agreement

3 Agreement in the Minimalist Programme

4 Agreement mismatches and the Agreement Hierarchy

5 Semantic agreement

Part III: Mass Nouns

6 The mass-count distinction

7 Furniture-nouns in English

8 Non-countable count nouns in Telugu

9 Concluding remarks

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Current Copyright Fee: GBP22.50 0.

ISBN:

9781501511127

1501511122

9781501510991

1501510991

OCLC:

1248760117