Home Linguistics & Semiotics Qualifying modifier encoding and adjectival typology
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Qualifying modifier encoding and adjectival typology

  • Luca Alfieri
View more publications by John Benjamins Publishing Company
Search
Word Classes
This chapter is in the book Word Classes

Abstract

Parts of speech are not primitive notions, they derive from the constructions defining them. Constructions, in turn, can be classified according to a mainly semantic or semantic-syntactic approach. In this paper I follow the latter view: the “adjective” is defined as the most typical construction coding the quality modifier of the noun and a cross-linguistic typology of quality modifier constructions is presented.

Abstract

Parts of speech are not primitive notions, they derive from the constructions defining them. Constructions, in turn, can be classified according to a mainly semantic or semantic-syntactic approach. In this paper I follow the latter view: the “adjective” is defined as the most typical construction coding the quality modifier of the noun and a cross-linguistic typology of quality modifier constructions is presented.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword and acknowledgements vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. PART I. Types of word classes
  6. Carving verb classes from corpora 17
  7. Classes of creation verbs 37
  8. On Light Nouns 51
  9. The ‘new adjectives’ of Tswana 75
  10. The Chinese adjective as a word class 95
  11. Qualifying modifier encoding and adjectival typology 119
  12. PART II. Minor and neglected word classes
  13. Hungarian is a classifier language 141
  14. Cardinal numerals 161
  15. On the borders of neglected word classes 181
  16. PART III. Across word classes
  17. Between adjective and noun 203
  18. On decategorization and its relevance in German 227
  19. PART IV. Radical views: Do we really need word classes?
  20. Word-class features and reduplicative meaning 245
  21. Half and other unique words 263
  22. Index of languages 283
  23. Index of names 285
  24. Index of subjects 289
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.332.07alf

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Foreword and acknowledgements vii
  4. Introduction 1
  5. PART I. Types of word classes
  6. Carving verb classes from corpora 17
  7. Classes of creation verbs 37
  8. On Light Nouns 51
  9. The ‘new adjectives’ of Tswana 75
  10. The Chinese adjective as a word class 95
  11. Qualifying modifier encoding and adjectival typology 119
  12. PART II. Minor and neglected word classes
  13. Hungarian is a classifier language 141
  14. Cardinal numerals 161
  15. On the borders of neglected word classes 181
  16. PART III. Across word classes
  17. Between adjective and noun 203
  18. On decategorization and its relevance in German 227
  19. PART IV. Radical views: Do we really need word classes?
  20. Word-class features and reduplicative meaning 245
  21. Half and other unique words 263
  22. Index of languages 283
  23. Index of names 285
  24. Index of subjects 289
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 7.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/cilt.332.07alf/html
Scroll to top button