23 Mass and count nouns
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Andrea Wilhelm
Abstract
This chapter gives a short survey of how the count/mass distinction manifests in North American Indigenous languages. I will show that unlike in European languages, number inflection does not necessarily play a prominent role in the distinction. North American Indigenous languages use their own unique morphosyntactic and lexical resources, which include not only the noun phrase but also the verb. I also emphasize the need for more in-depth study of this interesting phenomenon, both on the morphosyntactic and the semantic level, and make some methodological suggestions.
Abstract
This chapter gives a short survey of how the count/mass distinction manifests in North American Indigenous languages. I will show that unlike in European languages, number inflection does not necessarily play a prominent role in the distinction. North American Indigenous languages use their own unique morphosyntactic and lexical resources, which include not only the noun phrase but also the verb. I also emphasize the need for more in-depth study of this interesting phenomenon, both on the morphosyntactic and the semantic level, and make some methodological suggestions.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Table of contents VII
- List of North American families, languages, and dialects XIII
- Maps XLI
-
I Sounds and sound structure
- 1 Acoustic phonetics 1
- 2 Articulatory phonetics 39
- 3 Tone 63
- 4 Segmental phonology 89
- 5 Prosodic morphology 109
- 6 Word prosody 135
- 7 Prosody beyond the word 155
-
II Words
- 8 What is a word? 183
- 9 Word classes 205
-
III Sentences
- 10 Syntax within the clause 247
- 11 Negatives 267
- 12 Questions and requests in North American languages 283
- 13 Information structure 305
- 14 Clause-combining: Relative clauses 323
- 15 Clause combining: Syntax of subordination and complementation 345
- 16 Switch-reference and event cohesion 363
-
IV Discourse
- 17 Verbal art 385
- 18 Conversation structure 421
-
V Meaning
- 19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning 453
- 20 Lexicography 479
- 21 Evidentiality 497
- 22 Pluractionality and distributivity 511
- 23 Mass and count nouns 527
- 24 Sense of place: Space, landscape, and orientation 547
- 25 A sense of time and world 577
- 26 Pragmatics 599
-
VI Languages over space and time
- 27 Languages as dynamic systems: How grammar can emerge 619
- 28 Language contact and linguistic areas 647
- 29 Language classification 669
- 30 Archival-based sociolinguistic variation 689
- 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation 701
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Table of contents VII
- List of North American families, languages, and dialects XIII
- Maps XLI
-
I Sounds and sound structure
- 1 Acoustic phonetics 1
- 2 Articulatory phonetics 39
- 3 Tone 63
- 4 Segmental phonology 89
- 5 Prosodic morphology 109
- 6 Word prosody 135
- 7 Prosody beyond the word 155
-
II Words
- 8 What is a word? 183
- 9 Word classes 205
-
III Sentences
- 10 Syntax within the clause 247
- 11 Negatives 267
- 12 Questions and requests in North American languages 283
- 13 Information structure 305
- 14 Clause-combining: Relative clauses 323
- 15 Clause combining: Syntax of subordination and complementation 345
- 16 Switch-reference and event cohesion 363
-
IV Discourse
- 17 Verbal art 385
- 18 Conversation structure 421
-
V Meaning
- 19 Lexicalization and lexical meaning 453
- 20 Lexicography 479
- 21 Evidentiality 497
- 22 Pluractionality and distributivity 511
- 23 Mass and count nouns 527
- 24 Sense of place: Space, landscape, and orientation 547
- 25 A sense of time and world 577
- 26 Pragmatics 599
-
VI Languages over space and time
- 27 Languages as dynamic systems: How grammar can emerge 619
- 28 Language contact and linguistic areas 647
- 29 Language classification 669
- 30 Archival-based sociolinguistic variation 689
- 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation 701
