Inalienable possession
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Bert Le Bruyn
Abstract
We argue that the use of the definite article in French inalienable possession constructions does not lead us to abandon a unified analysis of definite articles. We face two challenges. First, the definite article in French inalienable possession constructions does not seem to convey uniqueness: Jean lve la main John raises the hand is felicitous independently of whether Jean has one or two hands. Second, if the definite article in these constructions is a run-of-the-mill definite article we seem to be left without an explanation for the variation between French and English that led both Guron (1983, 1985) and Vergnaud and Zubizarreta (1992) to assume that the definite article in French is structurally different from the one in English.
Abstract
We argue that the use of the definite article in French inalienable possession constructions does not lead us to abandon a unified analysis of definite articles. We face two challenges. First, the definite article in French inalienable possession constructions does not seem to convey uniqueness: Jean lve la main John raises the hand is felicitous independently of whether Jean has one or two hands. Second, if the definite article in these constructions is a run-of-the-mill definite article we seem to be left without an explanation for the variation between French and English that led both Guron (1983, 1985) and Vergnaud and Zubizarreta (1992) to assume that the definite article in French is structurally different from the one in English.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Advances in weak referentiality 1
- Modal inferences in marked indefinites 17
- Epistemic and scopal properties of some indefinites 45
- Antonymic prepositions and weak referentiality 73
- Weak referentiality and Russian instrumental nominals 101
- Predicate nominals in Papiamentu 129
- Many a plural 157
- Telic definites and their prepositions 183
- How weak and how definite are Weak Definites? 213
- Modified weak definites 237
- Functional frames in the interpretation of weak nominals 265
- Unscrambling the lexical nature of weak definites 287
- Inalienable possession 311
- Basque nominals 335
- Referential properties of definites and salience spreading 365
- Index 389
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of contributors vii
- List of abbreviations ix
- Advances in weak referentiality 1
- Modal inferences in marked indefinites 17
- Epistemic and scopal properties of some indefinites 45
- Antonymic prepositions and weak referentiality 73
- Weak referentiality and Russian instrumental nominals 101
- Predicate nominals in Papiamentu 129
- Many a plural 157
- Telic definites and their prepositions 183
- How weak and how definite are Weak Definites? 213
- Modified weak definites 237
- Functional frames in the interpretation of weak nominals 265
- Unscrambling the lexical nature of weak definites 287
- Inalienable possession 311
- Basque nominals 335
- Referential properties of definites and salience spreading 365
- Index 389
