Work

On the semantics of unit fractions

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: We present two novel observations concerning the linguistic behavior of unit fractions, e.g., ‘half‘, ‘third‘ etc., which challenge their analysis as proportional quantifiers/modifiers, arguing instead that in certain environments fractions presuppose ‘contextually salient‘ partitions over individuals. We distinguish environments that require a salient partition from those that do not, and propose a syntax and semantics for fractions that derives the distinction.

Source: Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung

DOI: 10.18148/sub/2024.v28.1113

Authors: Benbaji-Elhadad, Ido, Wehbe, Jad

Language: English

Topic: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W6944290284

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