Quantification Without Quantifiers: Number Sensitivity in Articleless Constructions

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This project deals with semantic variation in bare nominal constructions. English bare plurals vary between kind, generic and existential readings. Hindi, which has singular and plural bare nominals, differs in two respects. Hindi bare singulars do not admit existential readings in all contexts where English or Hindi bare plurals do. Hindi bare nominals have an additional definite reading, not available to English bare plurals. The research question driving the investigation is the possibility of predicting variations in the interpretation of bare nominals within and across languages. The main claim is that singular kind formation differs from plural kind formation in not allowing predication to its instantiations. This explains differences between Hindi bare singulars and plurals, as well as between English definite (singular) generics and bare plurals. Though kind formation strategies are universal, natural languages differ in having the definite article and in encoding number sensitivity. Semantic operations responsible for various readings interact with each other and lexical options in the two languages to create the observed effects. The project also deals with two other language types, one without number distinction or articles (Korean) and one with number distinction but only one article (Hebrew). Among the theoretical questions addressed are the following: Is reference to kinds an integral part of the semantics of bare nominals or are they simply indefinites? Are null determiners available in natural language or can a theory of type-shifts explain the facts? The general line of approach, consonant with current developments in syntax and phonology, is that semantic variation can be explained if semantic operations are subject to a set of interacting constraints. The results of this research should be of interest to linguists, philosophers, computational linguists and other cognitive scientists as well as to those working on second language acquisition.