Home Linguistics & Semiotics 5. On the interpretation of bare noun phrases in Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Creole (Kriyol)
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5. On the interpretation of bare noun phrases in Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Creole (Kriyol)

  • Alain Kihm
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Noun Phrases in Creole Languages
This chapter is in the book Noun Phrases in Creole Languages

Abstract

Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Creole or Kriyol is one of those languages where bare nouns have free access to syntax. Bare nouns are given a restrictive definition: only nouns appearing in their root form, i.e. not marked for number, are considered bare. Kriyol is thus different from Portuguese or English insofar as so-called bare nouns in these languages must be pluralized. Another distinctive feature of Kriyol is the absence of a definite determiner analogous to English the. The conjunction of these features – bare nouns unmarked for number, no overt definite determiner – makes the interpretation of Kriyol noun phrases appear problematic in many cases. The aim of this article is to show that, once semantic (does the noun refer to a person or not?) and syntactic (is the noun a subject or an object?) factors have been taken into account, Kriyol actually is no more ambiguous in this domain than natural languages normally are.

Abstract

Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Creole or Kriyol is one of those languages where bare nouns have free access to syntax. Bare nouns are given a restrictive definition: only nouns appearing in their root form, i.e. not marked for number, are considered bare. Kriyol is thus different from Portuguese or English insofar as so-called bare nouns in these languages must be pluralized. Another distinctive feature of Kriyol is the absence of a definite determiner analogous to English the. The conjunction of these features – bare nouns unmarked for number, no overt definite determiner – makes the interpretation of Kriyol noun phrases appear problematic in many cases. The aim of this article is to show that, once semantic (does the noun refer to a person or not?) and syntactic (is the noun a subject or an object?) factors have been taken into account, Kriyol actually is no more ambiguous in this domain than natural languages normally are.

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.31.08kih

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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