Bare and non-bare predication Bert Le Bruyn ESSLLI-StuS 2008.
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Transcript of Bare and non-bare predication Bert Le Bruyn ESSLLI-StuS 2008.
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Bare and non-bare predication
Bert Le BruynESSLLI-StuS 2008
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Introduction
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I am linguist.a
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Standard observations
another set of nouns usually takes the indefinite article
one set of nouns usually doesn’t take the indefinite article
= non-capacity nouns
= capacity nouns
Professions Religions Nationalitieslawyer
dictator
…
jew
christian
…
Belgian
American
…
The rest
ex. Hitler was dictator. H was dictator
ex. White Fang is een wolf. WF is a wolf
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Advanced observations
capacity nouns can occur with the indefinite article
Marie is een dictator.M is a dictator
“Mary has characteristics that we associate with dictators”
non-capacity nouns can occur without the indefinite article
Ik ben wolf.I am wolve
“I play the part of wolve”
MARKED USES
“non-capacity use”
“capacity use”
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CAPACITY NOUNS NON-CAPACITY NOUNS
NO
IN
DE
FIN
ITE
AR
TIN
DE
FIN
ITE
AR
T
Hitler was dictator.Hitler was dictator
Marie is een dictator.Marie is a dictator
Ik ben wolf.I am wolf
White Fang is een wolf.WF is a wolf
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Overview
GoalImprove on the analysis proposed by de Swart, Winteren Zwarts (2007)
● Presentation of de Swart et al. (2007)● Problem I and its solution ● Problem II and its solution
(setup)
(role of the Indef. Art.)
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de Swart et al. (2007)
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I. In the lexicon there are two kinds of nouns
capacity nouns
non-capacity nouns
type e, subtype ‘capacities’
Advocaat is een mooi beroep.Lawyer is a nice profession
type <e,t>
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eCapacities
<e,t>
capacity nouns
non-capacity nouns
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II. When occurring in predicate position capacity nounshave to shift to type <e,t>
To do this they have a special type-shift: CAP
profession set of people performing the profession
religion set of followers
nationality set of citizens
Sometimes this shift is made explicit:
Hij is advocaat van beroep.He is lawyer of profession
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e
<e,t>
capacity nouns
Capacities
CAP
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III. In presence of a NumP CAP is blocked
This is the case when there is an indefinite article (=assumption)
How is it then possible for capacity nouns to appear in predicate position ?
they are coerced into another e-subtype:
KINDSkinds are different from capacities in that they not only group the individuals that perform a certain profession but also those that have the characteristics associated with the profession
which can be shifted to type <e,t> in presence of a NumP:
via REL (Realization Operator)
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e
<e,t>
capacity nouns
Capacities
CAP
[presence of NumP]Kinds
REL
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Facts central in de Swart et al. (2007)
● Special status of capacity nouns.● Unmarked reading of capacity nouns.
Hitler was dictator. Hitler was dictator
(Application of CAP that maps professions to the people that perform it)● Marked reading of capacity nouns.
Marie is een dictator.Mary is a dictator
(Coercion into kind + application of REL)
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Problem I and its solution
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ObservationDe Swart et al. (2007) treat the “non-capacity” reading of capacity nouns but don’t treat the “capacity” reading of non-capacity nouns.
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QuestionCan it be incorporated into their account ?
NO!
ReasonNon-capacity nouns being of type <e,t> have no reason to shift when they occur in predicate position. No coercion mechanism can be exploited.
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
? CAP
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
CAP (operator creating Kinds)
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Solving the problem
● The problem the analysis faces is that it does not foresee a type clash for non-capacity nouns in predicate position.
● Solution: create one.
ProposalNon-capacity nouns are generated as type e, subtype ‘kinds’.
+ (temporary assumption) REL is in some way connected to the presence of NumP
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
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eCapacities
<e,t>
Kinds
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
REL
[with NumP]
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
REL
[without NumP]
CAP
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‘Tiny’ objection
Unlike capacity nouns non-capacity nouns cannot be used bare in argument position. How can they then be of type e ?
Advocaat is een mooi beroep.Lawyer is a nice profession
*Wolf is een bedreigde diersoort.Wolf is an endangered species
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‘Tiny’ objection
Advocaat is een mooi beroep.Lawyer is a nice profession
*Wolf is een bedreigde diersoort.Wolf is an endangered species
*De advocaat is een mooi beroep.The lawyer is a nice profession
De wolf is een bedreigde diersoort.The wolf is an endangered species
Gist of my reply: the bare form of non-capacity nouns is blocked by DPs headed by the definite article.
Fair question: why is this not also the case for capacity nouns ?
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‘Tiny’ objection
Advocaat is een mooi beroep.Lawyer is a nice profession
*Wolf is een bedreigde diersoort.Wolf is an endangered species
*De advocaat is een mooi beroep.The lawyer is a nice profession
De wolf is een bedreigde diersoort.The wolf is an endangered species
Gist of my reply: the bare form of non-capacity nouns is blocked by DPs headed by the definite article.
Fair question: why is this not also the case for capacity nouns ?
Answer: the combination of the definite article with the <e,t> version of a capacity doesn’t give us a capacity.
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eCapacities
<e,t>
non-capacity nouns
Kinds
REL
non-capacity nouns with NumP
(intensional version of iota)
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e
<e,t>
Capacities capacity nouns with NumPKinds
REL (intensional version of iota)
capacity nouns
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e
<e,t>
capacity nouns
Capacities capacity nouns with NumPKinds
RELiota
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Summary
In order to derive the ‘capacity’ reading of non-capacity nouns I claimed that non-capacity nouns are generated as expressions of type e, subtype kinds.
The analysis, as it stands, can explain both the unmarked and the marked readings of both capacity and non-capacity nouns.
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Problem II and its solution
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QuestionWhere does this constraint come from ?
It doesn’t seem to have a semantic motivation...
Recall
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Drifting (apparently) further away from semantics...
ProposalNon-capacity nouns have a feature that has to be checked. The role of the indefinite article in predicate position is to check it.
Question I: Why the indefinite article ?
Question II: Why (apparently) only in predicate position ?
Wanneer een dictator een land bezoekt zijn er altijd betogingen.When a dictator visits a country there are always manifestations
Question III: What happens in other positions ?
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Question I: Why the indefinite article ?
-> background on articles
-> background on kinds
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Background on articles (1)
Marking argumenthood
In languages that have articles they are obligatory in argument position (in as far as they render the same semantics as the bare form)
*I have cat.*Man came to see me.
Marking uniqueness
In languages that distinguish between a definite and an indefinite article the definite article (in the singular) is marked for uniqueness whereas the indefinite article is unmarked.
I saw the teacher.I saw a teacher.
!!! By not using the definite article the speaker does trigger an implicature of non-uniqueness.
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Background on articles (2)
both constructions are unmarked for uniqueness
both pragmatically imply non-uniqueness
wherever both are possible (i.e. in predicate position) the construction with the indefinite article marks non-uniqueness
(marked form linked to marked meaning)
indefinite article vs. bare form
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Background on kinds
Kinds are regularities that occur in nature.(Chierchia 1998)
Two corollaries:
● their members have to show a sufficiently regular behaviour● they should – in potential – have more than one member
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Question I: Why the indefinite article ?
-> background on articles
-> background on kinds
● their members have to show a sufficiently regular behaviour● they should – in potential – have more than one member
In predicate position the indefinite article marks non-uniqueness.
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Question I: Why the indefinite article ?
-> background on articles
In predicate position the indefinite article marks non-uniqueness.
-> background on kinds
Their members should in principle be non-unique.
AnswerIf we assume that the feature present on non-capacity nouns is [-unique] there is a straightforward reason to choose the indefinite article as a checker.
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Question II: Why only in predicate position ?
Recall
AnswerGiven that the ind. article can only mark non-uniqueness when it’s in competition with the bare form and given that this competition only surfaces in predicate position it can only check [-unique] in predicate position.
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Question III: What happens in other positions ?
● The capacity vs. non-capacity distinction is linguistically fully exploited in the <e,t> domain.
● In the e domain no trace remains (singular kinds are always marked with the definite)
● In the <<e,t>,t> domain there is no grammaticalized way to express the distinction between the two.-> neutralization-> neutralization presupposes the use of kinds (given that they are ‘bigger’ than capacities)-> checking of the [-unique] feature by determiners (linked to the D-projection)
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Summary
In an attempt to make the appearance of the indefinite article more insightful I explored the possibility to link its presence to the marking of non-uniqueness.
Interesting aspects:
● link with standard semantics/pragmatics of the indefinite article
● analysis derives why it’s only in the <e,t> domain that the indefinite article marks the distinction between capacity and non-capacity nouns(only domain in which the indefinite competes with the bare form)
● analysis derives why the distinction is neutralized in the <<e,t>,t> domain(no grammaticalized way of marking non-uniqueness)
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Recap
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Overview
GoalImprove on the analysis proposed by de Swart, Winteren Zwarts (2007)
● non-capacity nouns are generated as type e, subtype kinds
● non-capacity nouns come with a [-unique] feature that has to be checked-> in the <e,t> domain: indefinite article-> in the <<e,t>,t> domain: vacuously by any determiner
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