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Semantic Plurality : English Collective Nouns and Other Ways of Denoting Pluralities of Entities.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Current Issues in Linguistic Theory SeriesPublisher: Amsterdam/Philadelphia : John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2019Copyright date: ©2019Edition: 1st edDescription: 1 online resource (227 pages)Content type:
  • text
Media type:
  • computer
Carrier type:
  • online resource
ISBN:
  • 9789027261748
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: Semantic PluralityDDC classification:
  • 425.5
LOC classification:
  • P271
Online resources:
Contents:
Intro -- SEMANTIC PLURALITY -- Editorial page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- Chapter 1. Introduction: Why study semantic plurality and pluralities of entities? -- 1.1 What is a plurality of entities? -- 1.1.1 'Plurality' compared with 'aggregate' and 'set' -- 1.1.2 Do collective nouns denote pluralities?: The concept of 'internal plurality' -- 1.1.3 Do plural NPs denote pluralities?: The singularist approach -- 1.1.4 List of linguistic means available to denote pluralities of entities -- 1.2 Advantages of a semantic /plurality/ feature over the /number/ feature -- 1.3 Why take collective nouns as a starting point? -- 1.3.1 Collective nouns as the problematic backbone of references to pluralities -- 1.3.2 A long tradition of deceptively simple descriptions in grammars and dictionaries -- 1.3.3 A number of unsolved issues in recent studies -- 1.3.4 Leading questions for this volume -- 1.4 A preliminary list of pre-requisites for 'collective nouns' -- 1.4.1 A relation between 'units' and a 'collective whole' -- 1.4.2 A plurality resulting from a grouping operation -- 1.4.3 A specific type of part/whole relation -- 1.4.3.1 Unprototypical meronymy -- 1.4.3.2 Collective wholes distinguished from particulate masses -- 1.4.3.3 Meronymy distinguished from taxonomy, despite the shared notion of 'members' -- 1.4.4 A /plurality/ feature at lexical level - from whole sense to facet of meaning -- 1.5 Outline of the book -- Chapter 2. Hybrid agreement: Motivations, nature and constraints -- 2.1 The boundary issue: Hybrid agreement as a defining feature of collective nouns? -- 2.2 The nature of hybrid agreement as an argument against the status of defining feature -- 2.2.1 Description of hybrid agreement with animate count collective nouns -- 2.2.2 The argument of hybrid agreement in gender systems.
2.2.3 Hybrid agreement as a superimposed effect of the universal Animacy Hierarchy -- 2.2.4 Consequence: The singular as the default agreement pattern -- 2.3 Construal with hybrid agreement: Motivation and factors of opacification -- 2.3.1 Fundamental motivation: A double layer of conceptualisation -- 2.3.2 Opacification factor 1: The status of default number of the singular -- 2.3.3 Opacification factor 2: Differences in the behaviour of individual nouns -- 2.3.4 Opacification factor 3: cross-regional differences -- 2.3.4.1 American English vs. British English -- 2.3.4.2 Other varieties of English -- 2.3.5 Opacification factor 4: Genre and stylistic variation -- 2.3.6 Opacification factor 5: Assessing the hypothesis of a diachronic evolution towards more singular -- 2.4 Conclusion on hybrid agreement in relation to the definition of collective nouns -- Chapter 3. Establishing the boundaries of 'collective nouns' for count nouns -- 3.1 Further construal characteristics of collective nouns that license hybrid agreement -- 3.1.1 Cohesion of the units -- 3.1.2 A bounded plurality -- 3.1.3 Non additivity considered further: Extreme heterogeneity in the degrees of permeability -- 3.1.4 Collective nouns, senses and facets: Hybrid agreement does not guarantee a collective 'noun' -- 3.1.4.1 Distinction between lexicon-based and discourse-based collective reference -- 3.1.4.2 Exclusions from the class of collective nouns -- 3.1.4.3 Summary: Types of 'collectiveness' and consequences for hybrid agreement -- 3.1.5 'Units of the same type' not found to be a prerequisite -- 3.2 Boundaries of the class of count collective nouns for humans -- 3.2.1 Exclusion of 'enemy' -- 3.2.2 Exclusion of the taxon/exemplar relation: The case of 'race' -- 3.2.3 Inclusion of underdetermined nouns (e.g. 'group') -- 3.2.4 A list of human count collective nouns.
3.2.4.1 Data collection procedure -- 3.2.4.2 A list of count collective nouns for humans -- 3.3 Boundaries of the class of count collective nouns for animals -- 3.3.1 From flocks and herds to 'auroras' of polar bears: Are all these collective? -- 3.3.1.1 Preliminary overview of count nouns used to denote pluralities of animals -- 3.3.1.2 Only a minority of these nouns are actually collective -- 3.3.2 Exclusion of the taxon/exemplar relation: The case of breed and species -- 3.3.2.1 Literal uses for animals -- 3.3.2.2 Metaphorical extensions: Comparison with kind and generation -- 3.3.3 Inclusion of count uses of fauna -- 3.3.4 A list of count collective nouns for animals -- 3.4 Count collective nouns that denote pluralities of inanimates -- 3.4.1 Inclusions and exclusions: A closer look at potential problem cases -- 3.4.1.1 Books and other written documents (e.g. 'anthology') -- 3.4.1.2 Nouns that denote networks -- 3.4.1.3 Durations (e.g. 'week') -- 3.4.1.4 'Alphabet' -- 3.4.2 A list of inanimate count collective nouns that may occur without an of-complement -- 3.4.3 A comparison between inanimate and animate count collective nouns -- 3.5. The boundaries of collective nouns among N1s in binominal NPs -- 3.5.1 From 'pseudo-partitives' to the 'organised plurality construction' -- 3.5.2 Meaning relations when N1 is uncontroversially collective -- 3.5.3 Extension 1: Collective nouns in metaphorical uses are still collective -- 3.5.4 Extension 2: Loss of collective status in rare cases of reanalysis of the construction -- 3.5.5 Application to N1s that are not of collective origin: Rejection of collective status -- 3.6 Conclusion -- Chapter 4. A comparison between NPs headed by count collective nouns and NPs whose /plurality/ feature is acquired in discourse -- 4.1 NPs headed by a count noun in the plural.
4.1.1 The morphosyntactic plural: Discourse feature or component of lexical matter? -- 4.1.2 Construal of pluralities when the plural morpheme is -s: Distinction between 'collective' and 'cohesive' -- 4.1.3 Construal of pluralities with the zero plural morpheme: A form of collectivisation? -- 4.1.3.1 ø as a morpheme: (These) elephant, aspirin, (ten) crew and others -- 4.1.3.2 The result of two different coercion processes: Rejection of the notion of 'internal plural' -- 4.1.3.3 These pluralities are not collective - resulting labels -- 4.2 Other ways of denoting pluralities of units through discourse-acquired features -- 4.2.1 Conjoined NPs -- 4.2.2 Partly substantivised adjectives -- 4.2.2.1 A four-stage gradient of nominalisation -- 4.2.2.2 The result of pressure to categorise individuals -- 4.2.2.3 What construal of the pluralities?: A gradient from aggregates to groupings -- 4.2.2.4 Competing solutions for the same adjectives -- 4.2.3 Quantifier + singular count noun -- 4.3 Conclusion -- Chapter 5. Non-count singular nouns with a /plurality/ feature -- 5.1 A note on terminological choices -- 5.1.1 'Non-count' as a matter of variety of English -- 5.1.2 'Non-count' rather than 'mass' -- 5.1.3 Non-count nouns as carrying number: 'lexical' vs. 'morphosyntactic' number -- 5.2 The terms of the debate: Construal differences between furniture nouns and count collective nouns -- 5.2.1 Introduction: Historical perspective -- 5.2.2 Construal differences between furniture nouns and other singular non-count nouns -- 5.2.3 Construal differences between furniture nouns and count collective nouns -- 5.2.4 Construal differences between furniture nouns and N-s -- 5.3 Furniture nouns as superordinate aggregate nouns: non-taxonomic hyperonyms of plural classes -- 5.3.1 Superordinate aggregates -- 5.3.2 Non-taxonomic hyperonyms.
5.3.3 The 'hyperonym of plural classes' hypothesis -- 5.3.4 A typology of nouns that denote aggregates of heterogeneous entities -- 5.3.4.1 Tentative list -- 5.3.4.2 A note on number variation: Reanalyses -- 5.4 Extension to other non-count nouns that denote pluralities of entities -- 5.4.1 Other inanimates: Pluralities of homogeneous entities -- 5.4.2 Animals -- 5.4.3 Humans -- 5.4.3.1 Management and other departments? -- 5.4.3.2 Mankind, humankind and humanity? -- 5.5 Conclusion -- Chapter 6. Lexical plurals that denote pluralities of entities -- 6.1 Overview and typology of lexical plurals that denote pluralities of entities -- 6.1.1 Crew, people and other originally count collective nouns -- 6.1.2 Morphologically-marked lexical plurals -- 6.1.2.1 Nouns with a lexical plural marker -s -- 6.1.2.2 Nouns with a Latin plural ending -- 6.1.2.3 Remarkable lack of stability of the plural number -- 6.1.3 Cattle as an odd-one-out? -- 6.2 These lexical plurals as aggregate nouns -- 6.2.1 Cattle: An aggregate noun resulting from coercion of a singular aggregate noun -- 6.2.2 Other nouns that denote entities of different kinds -- 6.2.2.1 Hyperonyms of plural classes -- 6.2.2.2 Lack of interest in the individual units: Aggregate nouns -- 6.3 Lexical plurals vs. N-s or singular non-count nouns: Construal and morphological 'attractors' -- 6.3.1 Preference for lexical plurals over N-s -- 6.3.2 Preference for lexical plurals over non-count singular nouns -- 6.4 Conclusion -- Chapter 7. General conclusion -- 7.1 The Scale of Unit Integration for pluralities of entities -- 7.2 Challenges for further research -- 7.2.1 The relation of morphosyntactic number to the lexical level -- 7.2.2 Other types of pluralities -- References -- General index -- Lexical index.
Summary: This monograph proposes a comparative approach to all the ways of denoting 'more than one' entity. This semantic feature approach to plurality, which cuts across number, the count/non-count distinction, and lexical/NP levels, reveals a very consistent Scale of Unit Integration, which establishes clear-cut boundaries for collective nouns.
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Intro -- SEMANTIC PLURALITY -- Editorial page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Table of contents -- Chapter 1. Introduction: Why study semantic plurality and pluralities of entities? -- 1.1 What is a plurality of entities? -- 1.1.1 'Plurality' compared with 'aggregate' and 'set' -- 1.1.2 Do collective nouns denote pluralities?: The concept of 'internal plurality' -- 1.1.3 Do plural NPs denote pluralities?: The singularist approach -- 1.1.4 List of linguistic means available to denote pluralities of entities -- 1.2 Advantages of a semantic /plurality/ feature over the /number/ feature -- 1.3 Why take collective nouns as a starting point? -- 1.3.1 Collective nouns as the problematic backbone of references to pluralities -- 1.3.2 A long tradition of deceptively simple descriptions in grammars and dictionaries -- 1.3.3 A number of unsolved issues in recent studies -- 1.3.4 Leading questions for this volume -- 1.4 A preliminary list of pre-requisites for 'collective nouns' -- 1.4.1 A relation between 'units' and a 'collective whole' -- 1.4.2 A plurality resulting from a grouping operation -- 1.4.3 A specific type of part/whole relation -- 1.4.3.1 Unprototypical meronymy -- 1.4.3.2 Collective wholes distinguished from particulate masses -- 1.4.3.3 Meronymy distinguished from taxonomy, despite the shared notion of 'members' -- 1.4.4 A /plurality/ feature at lexical level - from whole sense to facet of meaning -- 1.5 Outline of the book -- Chapter 2. Hybrid agreement: Motivations, nature and constraints -- 2.1 The boundary issue: Hybrid agreement as a defining feature of collective nouns? -- 2.2 The nature of hybrid agreement as an argument against the status of defining feature -- 2.2.1 Description of hybrid agreement with animate count collective nouns -- 2.2.2 The argument of hybrid agreement in gender systems.

2.2.3 Hybrid agreement as a superimposed effect of the universal Animacy Hierarchy -- 2.2.4 Consequence: The singular as the default agreement pattern -- 2.3 Construal with hybrid agreement: Motivation and factors of opacification -- 2.3.1 Fundamental motivation: A double layer of conceptualisation -- 2.3.2 Opacification factor 1: The status of default number of the singular -- 2.3.3 Opacification factor 2: Differences in the behaviour of individual nouns -- 2.3.4 Opacification factor 3: cross-regional differences -- 2.3.4.1 American English vs. British English -- 2.3.4.2 Other varieties of English -- 2.3.5 Opacification factor 4: Genre and stylistic variation -- 2.3.6 Opacification factor 5: Assessing the hypothesis of a diachronic evolution towards more singular -- 2.4 Conclusion on hybrid agreement in relation to the definition of collective nouns -- Chapter 3. Establishing the boundaries of 'collective nouns' for count nouns -- 3.1 Further construal characteristics of collective nouns that license hybrid agreement -- 3.1.1 Cohesion of the units -- 3.1.2 A bounded plurality -- 3.1.3 Non additivity considered further: Extreme heterogeneity in the degrees of permeability -- 3.1.4 Collective nouns, senses and facets: Hybrid agreement does not guarantee a collective 'noun' -- 3.1.4.1 Distinction between lexicon-based and discourse-based collective reference -- 3.1.4.2 Exclusions from the class of collective nouns -- 3.1.4.3 Summary: Types of 'collectiveness' and consequences for hybrid agreement -- 3.1.5 'Units of the same type' not found to be a prerequisite -- 3.2 Boundaries of the class of count collective nouns for humans -- 3.2.1 Exclusion of 'enemy' -- 3.2.2 Exclusion of the taxon/exemplar relation: The case of 'race' -- 3.2.3 Inclusion of underdetermined nouns (e.g. 'group') -- 3.2.4 A list of human count collective nouns.

3.2.4.1 Data collection procedure -- 3.2.4.2 A list of count collective nouns for humans -- 3.3 Boundaries of the class of count collective nouns for animals -- 3.3.1 From flocks and herds to 'auroras' of polar bears: Are all these collective? -- 3.3.1.1 Preliminary overview of count nouns used to denote pluralities of animals -- 3.3.1.2 Only a minority of these nouns are actually collective -- 3.3.2 Exclusion of the taxon/exemplar relation: The case of breed and species -- 3.3.2.1 Literal uses for animals -- 3.3.2.2 Metaphorical extensions: Comparison with kind and generation -- 3.3.3 Inclusion of count uses of fauna -- 3.3.4 A list of count collective nouns for animals -- 3.4 Count collective nouns that denote pluralities of inanimates -- 3.4.1 Inclusions and exclusions: A closer look at potential problem cases -- 3.4.1.1 Books and other written documents (e.g. 'anthology') -- 3.4.1.2 Nouns that denote networks -- 3.4.1.3 Durations (e.g. 'week') -- 3.4.1.4 'Alphabet' -- 3.4.2 A list of inanimate count collective nouns that may occur without an of-complement -- 3.4.3 A comparison between inanimate and animate count collective nouns -- 3.5. The boundaries of collective nouns among N1s in binominal NPs -- 3.5.1 From 'pseudo-partitives' to the 'organised plurality construction' -- 3.5.2 Meaning relations when N1 is uncontroversially collective -- 3.5.3 Extension 1: Collective nouns in metaphorical uses are still collective -- 3.5.4 Extension 2: Loss of collective status in rare cases of reanalysis of the construction -- 3.5.5 Application to N1s that are not of collective origin: Rejection of collective status -- 3.6 Conclusion -- Chapter 4. A comparison between NPs headed by count collective nouns and NPs whose /plurality/ feature is acquired in discourse -- 4.1 NPs headed by a count noun in the plural.

4.1.1 The morphosyntactic plural: Discourse feature or component of lexical matter? -- 4.1.2 Construal of pluralities when the plural morpheme is -s: Distinction between 'collective' and 'cohesive' -- 4.1.3 Construal of pluralities with the zero plural morpheme: A form of collectivisation? -- 4.1.3.1 ø as a morpheme: (These) elephant, aspirin, (ten) crew and others -- 4.1.3.2 The result of two different coercion processes: Rejection of the notion of 'internal plural' -- 4.1.3.3 These pluralities are not collective - resulting labels -- 4.2 Other ways of denoting pluralities of units through discourse-acquired features -- 4.2.1 Conjoined NPs -- 4.2.2 Partly substantivised adjectives -- 4.2.2.1 A four-stage gradient of nominalisation -- 4.2.2.2 The result of pressure to categorise individuals -- 4.2.2.3 What construal of the pluralities?: A gradient from aggregates to groupings -- 4.2.2.4 Competing solutions for the same adjectives -- 4.2.3 Quantifier + singular count noun -- 4.3 Conclusion -- Chapter 5. Non-count singular nouns with a /plurality/ feature -- 5.1 A note on terminological choices -- 5.1.1 'Non-count' as a matter of variety of English -- 5.1.2 'Non-count' rather than 'mass' -- 5.1.3 Non-count nouns as carrying number: 'lexical' vs. 'morphosyntactic' number -- 5.2 The terms of the debate: Construal differences between furniture nouns and count collective nouns -- 5.2.1 Introduction: Historical perspective -- 5.2.2 Construal differences between furniture nouns and other singular non-count nouns -- 5.2.3 Construal differences between furniture nouns and count collective nouns -- 5.2.4 Construal differences between furniture nouns and N-s -- 5.3 Furniture nouns as superordinate aggregate nouns: non-taxonomic hyperonyms of plural classes -- 5.3.1 Superordinate aggregates -- 5.3.2 Non-taxonomic hyperonyms.

5.3.3 The 'hyperonym of plural classes' hypothesis -- 5.3.4 A typology of nouns that denote aggregates of heterogeneous entities -- 5.3.4.1 Tentative list -- 5.3.4.2 A note on number variation: Reanalyses -- 5.4 Extension to other non-count nouns that denote pluralities of entities -- 5.4.1 Other inanimates: Pluralities of homogeneous entities -- 5.4.2 Animals -- 5.4.3 Humans -- 5.4.3.1 Management and other departments? -- 5.4.3.2 Mankind, humankind and humanity? -- 5.5 Conclusion -- Chapter 6. Lexical plurals that denote pluralities of entities -- 6.1 Overview and typology of lexical plurals that denote pluralities of entities -- 6.1.1 Crew, people and other originally count collective nouns -- 6.1.2 Morphologically-marked lexical plurals -- 6.1.2.1 Nouns with a lexical plural marker -s -- 6.1.2.2 Nouns with a Latin plural ending -- 6.1.2.3 Remarkable lack of stability of the plural number -- 6.1.3 Cattle as an odd-one-out? -- 6.2 These lexical plurals as aggregate nouns -- 6.2.1 Cattle: An aggregate noun resulting from coercion of a singular aggregate noun -- 6.2.2 Other nouns that denote entities of different kinds -- 6.2.2.1 Hyperonyms of plural classes -- 6.2.2.2 Lack of interest in the individual units: Aggregate nouns -- 6.3 Lexical plurals vs. N-s or singular non-count nouns: Construal and morphological 'attractors' -- 6.3.1 Preference for lexical plurals over N-s -- 6.3.2 Preference for lexical plurals over non-count singular nouns -- 6.4 Conclusion -- Chapter 7. General conclusion -- 7.1 The Scale of Unit Integration for pluralities of entities -- 7.2 Challenges for further research -- 7.2.1 The relation of morphosyntactic number to the lexical level -- 7.2.2 Other types of pluralities -- References -- General index -- Lexical index.

This monograph proposes a comparative approach to all the ways of denoting 'more than one' entity. This semantic feature approach to plurality, which cuts across number, the count/non-count distinction, and lexical/NP levels, reveals a very consistent Scale of Unit Integration, which establishes clear-cut boundaries for collective nouns.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

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