The functional range of bare singular count nouns in English
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Laurel Smith Stvan
Abstract
One overlooked and highly polysemous English noun phrase form is the bare singular, i.e. a null determiner with a singular count noun complement. Occurring in all grammatical positions, this constituent shape is used in English for multiple functions. Examination of naturally occurring English data shows the conditions under which bare singulars are used as generics (with a meaning like bare plurals), as components of a predicate conveying a stereotypical activity (with an indefi nite meaning), and as markers of an identifiable referent (like nouns with definite articles, demonstratives, and possessive determiners). While generic and indefinite meanings are well documented for bare forms, the reading that picks out an identifi able referent is unexpected for a bare nominal. This range of meaning-based distinctions suggests additional theoretical consequences for cross-linguistic noun interpretation and DP-internal syntactic structure.
Abstract
One overlooked and highly polysemous English noun phrase form is the bare singular, i.e. a null determiner with a singular count noun complement. Occurring in all grammatical positions, this constituent shape is used in English for multiple functions. Examination of naturally occurring English data shows the conditions under which bare singulars are used as generics (with a meaning like bare plurals), as components of a predicate conveying a stereotypical activity (with an indefi nite meaning), and as markers of an identifiable referent (like nouns with definite articles, demonstratives, and possessive determiners). While generic and indefinite meanings are well documented for bare forms, the reading that picks out an identifi able referent is unexpected for a bare nominal. This range of meaning-based distinctions suggests additional theoretical consequences for cross-linguistic noun interpretation and DP-internal syntactic structure.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
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Part 1. Synchrony – and its implications for diachrony
- Discourse binding: DP and pronouns in German, Dutch, and English 21
- Gender, number, and indefinite articles: About the 'typological inconsistency' of Italian 49
- Covert patterns of definiteness/indefiniteness and aspectuality in Old Icelandic, Gothic, and Old High German 73
- The definite article in Indo-European: Emergence of a new grammatical category? 103
- 'No' changes: On the history of German indefinite determiners in the scope of negation 141
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Part 2. Synchrony – ontological and typological characteristics
- The functional range of bare singular count nouns in English 171
- The definite article in non-specific object noun phrases: Comparing French and Italian 189
- Early functions of definite determiners and DPs in German first language acquisition 215
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Part 3. Diachrony – universally unified characteristics?
- The discourse-functional crystallization of DP from the original demonstrative 241
- Determinerless noun phrases in Old Romance passives 257
- On the structure and development of nominal phrases in Norwegian 287
- The emergence of DP from a perspective of ontogeny and phylogeny: Correlation between DP, TP and aspect in Old English and first language acquisition 311
- Demonstratives and possessives: From Old English to present-day English 339
- Index 363
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part 1. Synchrony – and its implications for diachrony
- Discourse binding: DP and pronouns in German, Dutch, and English 21
- Gender, number, and indefinite articles: About the 'typological inconsistency' of Italian 49
- Covert patterns of definiteness/indefiniteness and aspectuality in Old Icelandic, Gothic, and Old High German 73
- The definite article in Indo-European: Emergence of a new grammatical category? 103
- 'No' changes: On the history of German indefinite determiners in the scope of negation 141
-
Part 2. Synchrony – ontological and typological characteristics
- The functional range of bare singular count nouns in English 171
- The definite article in non-specific object noun phrases: Comparing French and Italian 189
- Early functions of definite determiners and DPs in German first language acquisition 215
-
Part 3. Diachrony – universally unified characteristics?
- The discourse-functional crystallization of DP from the original demonstrative 241
- Determinerless noun phrases in Old Romance passives 257
- On the structure and development of nominal phrases in Norwegian 287
- The emergence of DP from a perspective of ontogeny and phylogeny: Correlation between DP, TP and aspect in Old English and first language acquisition 311
- Demonstratives and possessives: From Old English to present-day English 339
- Index 363
