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4. Papiamentu and Brazilian Portuguese

A comparative study of bare nominals
  • Ellen-Petra Kester and Cristina Schmitt
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Noun Phrases in Creole Languages
This chapter is in the book Noun Phrases in Creole Languages

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study on bare nominals in Papiamentu and Brazilian Portuguese, taking into account also the distribution of definite and indefinite articles in these languages. Following Munn and Schmitt (2001) and Schmitt and Munn (1999 , 2003), we argue bare singulars in both languages are nouns phrases that lack interpretable number, which allows them to be interpreted both as singular or plural depending on the context. Semantically they can be interpreted as kinds as in Chierchia 1998 . The differences are to be explained by differences among the items competing for the same position in the syntactic structure. Bare plurals in both languages, on the other hand, differ syntactically and semantically. While bare plurals in Papiamentu are disguised bare plurals in the sense that they have a definite feature, which dramatically restricts their distribution, bare plurals in Brazilian Portuguese behave like English bare plurals.

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study on bare nominals in Papiamentu and Brazilian Portuguese, taking into account also the distribution of definite and indefinite articles in these languages. Following Munn and Schmitt (2001) and Schmitt and Munn (1999 , 2003), we argue bare singulars in both languages are nouns phrases that lack interpretable number, which allows them to be interpreted both as singular or plural depending on the context. Semantically they can be interpreted as kinds as in Chierchia 1998 . The differences are to be explained by differences among the items competing for the same position in the syntactic structure. Bare plurals in both languages, on the other hand, differ syntactically and semantically. While bare plurals in Papiamentu are disguised bare plurals in the sense that they have a definite feature, which dramatically restricts their distribution, bare plurals in Brazilian Portuguese behave like English bare plurals.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgment ix
  4. Part I: An introduction
  5. 1. Noun phrases in creole languages 3
  6. Part II: Portuguese-lexified Creoles
  7. 2. Bare nouns and the nominal domain in Santome 37
  8. 3. On the syntax and semantics of DP in Cape Verdean Creole 61
  9. 4. Papiamentu and Brazilian Portuguese 107
  10. 5. On the interpretation of bare noun phrases in Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Creole (Kriyol) 145
  11. Part III: Spanish-lexified Creoles
  12. 6. Some aspects of NPs in Mindanao Chabacano 173
  13. 7. Bare nouns in Palenquero 205
  14. Part IV: French-lexified Creoles
  15. 8. Bare nouns in Réunionnais Creole 225
  16. 9. The bare NP in Lesser Antillean 243
  17. 10. Bare NPs and deficient DPs in Haitian Creole and French 265
  18. Part V: A comparison of romance Creoles
  19. 11. Implicit determination and plural 301
  20. Part VI: English-lexified Creoles
  21. 12. Bare nouns and articles in Sranan 339
  22. 13. Aspects of the syntax and semantics of bare nouns in Jamaican Creole 383
  23. Part VII: African American English
  24. 14. NPs in aspectual Be constructions in African American English 403
  25. 15. Bare nouns in African American English (AAE) 421
  26. Part VIII: Dutch-lexified Creoles
  27. 16. Bare nouns in Berbice Dutch Creole 437
  28. Part IX: A Synthesis and a postface
  29. 17. Properties of noun phrases in creole languages 461
  30. 18. Functional deficiency, ellipsis or innovation in creole languages? 471
  31. Index 485
https://doi.org/10.1075/cll.31.07kes

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgment ix
  4. Part I: An introduction
  5. 1. Noun phrases in creole languages 3
  6. Part II: Portuguese-lexified Creoles
  7. 2. Bare nouns and the nominal domain in Santome 37
  8. 3. On the syntax and semantics of DP in Cape Verdean Creole 61
  9. 4. Papiamentu and Brazilian Portuguese 107
  10. 5. On the interpretation of bare noun phrases in Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Creole (Kriyol) 145
  11. Part III: Spanish-lexified Creoles
  12. 6. Some aspects of NPs in Mindanao Chabacano 173
  13. 7. Bare nouns in Palenquero 205
  14. Part IV: French-lexified Creoles
  15. 8. Bare nouns in Réunionnais Creole 225
  16. 9. The bare NP in Lesser Antillean 243
  17. 10. Bare NPs and deficient DPs in Haitian Creole and French 265
  18. Part V: A comparison of romance Creoles
  19. 11. Implicit determination and plural 301
  20. Part VI: English-lexified Creoles
  21. 12. Bare nouns and articles in Sranan 339
  22. 13. Aspects of the syntax and semantics of bare nouns in Jamaican Creole 383
  23. Part VII: African American English
  24. 14. NPs in aspectual Be constructions in African American English 403
  25. 15. Bare nouns in African American English (AAE) 421
  26. Part VIII: Dutch-lexified Creoles
  27. 16. Bare nouns in Berbice Dutch Creole 437
  28. Part IX: A Synthesis and a postface
  29. 17. Properties of noun phrases in creole languages 461
  30. 18. Functional deficiency, ellipsis or innovation in creole languages? 471
  31. Index 485
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