Abstract
This paper explores two types of degree modifiers in German, namely total and voll. While most degree modifiers are usually placed inside an NP, total and voll frequently appear in a position outside of an NP, giving them the function of intensifiers rather than pure modifiers. Hence, they become NP-external intensifiers. Previous studies have suggested that these NP-external intensifiers either take an adjective inside the subsequent NP in their scope, or, if there is none, the NP head. Based on corpus data from the deCow16B, we suggest an alternative interpretation where the scope of the intensifier always ranges over the subsequent NP as a whole, irrespective of it containing an adjective or not. We suggest that this can be described based on prototype effects and underdetermination, whether there is an adjective present or not. The NP denotes an exemplar of a (prototypical) category: the category membership is understood as scalar and the NP is intensified on this implicit scale.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Jetzt hab ich voll die Panik: Prototype effects of NP-external intensifiers in German
- Metapragmatic markers and the instantiation of pragmatic frames: A cognitive-linguistic approach to the problem of current discourse
- Linguistic paradigms as cognitive entities: A domain-general approach
- Partial colexifications reveal directional tendencies in object naming
- The interplay of conceptualization and case marking in the directional cases of Udmurt
- Integrating approaches to the role of metaphor in the evolutionary dynamics of language
- Metaphorical meaning dynamics: Identifying patterns in the metaphorical evolution of English words using mathematical modeling techniques
- The language of gratitude: An empirical analysis of acknowledgments in German medical dissertations
- Cross- and multimodal anaphoric references in mystery movies: A cognitive perspective
- Language learners, chess champions, and piano prodigies – insights from research on language contact and expert behavior
- Adaptive language strategies of an older sibling in bilingual German-Russian acquisition: A case study
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Jetzt hab ich voll die Panik: Prototype effects of NP-external intensifiers in German
- Metapragmatic markers and the instantiation of pragmatic frames: A cognitive-linguistic approach to the problem of current discourse
- Linguistic paradigms as cognitive entities: A domain-general approach
- Partial colexifications reveal directional tendencies in object naming
- The interplay of conceptualization and case marking in the directional cases of Udmurt
- Integrating approaches to the role of metaphor in the evolutionary dynamics of language
- Metaphorical meaning dynamics: Identifying patterns in the metaphorical evolution of English words using mathematical modeling techniques
- The language of gratitude: An empirical analysis of acknowledgments in German medical dissertations
- Cross- and multimodal anaphoric references in mystery movies: A cognitive perspective
- Language learners, chess champions, and piano prodigies – insights from research on language contact and expert behavior
- Adaptive language strategies of an older sibling in bilingual German-Russian acquisition: A case study