Work

Mass/Count Variation: A Mereological, Two-Dimensional Semantics

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: We argue that two types of context are central to grounding the semantics for the mass/count distinction. We combine and develop the accounts of Rothstein (2010) and Landman (2011), which emphasize (non-)overlap at a context. We also adopt some parts of Chierchia’s (2010) account which uses precisifying contexts. We unite these strands in a two-dimensional semantics that covers a wide range of the puzzling variation data in mass/count lexicalization. Most importantly, it predicts where we should expect to find such variation for some classes of nouns but not for others, and also explains why.

Source: The Baltic International Yearbook of Cognition Logic and Communication

DOI: 10.4148/1944-3676.1110

Authors: Peter R Sutton, Hana Filip

Institution: Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

Language: English

Topic: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W2559790074

FWCI: 12.82

Cites: 14

Cited by: 82

Related to: 10