Jason Stanley
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288038
- eISBN:
- 9780191603679
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288038.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
The thesis of this book is that whether or not someone knows a proposition at a given time is in part determined by his or her practical interests, i.e., by how much is at stake for that person at ...
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The thesis of this book is that whether or not someone knows a proposition at a given time is in part determined by his or her practical interests, i.e., by how much is at stake for that person at that time. Thus, whether a true belief is knowledge is not merely a matter of supporting beliefs or reliability; in the case of knowledge, practical rationality and theoretical rationality are intertwined. This thesis, called Interest-Relative Invariantism about knowledge, is defended against alternative accounts of the phenomena that motivate it, such as the claim that knowledge attributions are linguistically context-sensitive and the claim that the truth of a knowledge claim is somehow relative to the person making the claim. The strategies available for resolving skepticism to the strategies available for resolving other philosophical paradoxes are compared. For example, contextualist solutions to the sorites paradox and the liar paradox, as well as interest-relative accounts of the sorites paradox are considered. It is shown that the argument for the interest-relative character of epistemic notions is not the result of an application of a general strategy for resolving philosophical quandaries, but arises from the distinctive nature of epistemic properties.Less
The thesis of this book is that whether or not someone knows a proposition at a given time is in part determined by his or her practical interests, i.e., by how much is at stake for that person at that time. Thus, whether a true belief is knowledge is not merely a matter of supporting beliefs or reliability; in the case of knowledge, practical rationality and theoretical rationality are intertwined. This thesis, called Interest-Relative Invariantism about knowledge, is defended against alternative accounts of the phenomena that motivate it, such as the claim that knowledge attributions are linguistically context-sensitive and the claim that the truth of a knowledge claim is somehow relative to the person making the claim. The strategies available for resolving skepticism to the strategies available for resolving other philosophical paradoxes are compared. For example, contextualist solutions to the sorites paradox and the liar paradox, as well as interest-relative accounts of the sorites paradox are considered. It is shown that the argument for the interest-relative character of epistemic notions is not the result of an application of a general strategy for resolving philosophical quandaries, but arises from the distinctive nature of epistemic properties.
Helma Dik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279296
- eISBN:
- 9780191706905
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279296.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book approaches word order in Greek tragic dialogue from the perspective of language rather than metre. The tragic poets engaged in mimesis of natural dialogue; therefore the analysis of the ...
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This book approaches word order in Greek tragic dialogue from the perspective of language rather than metre. The tragic poets engaged in mimesis of natural dialogue; therefore the analysis of the linguistic characteristics of the dialogue precedes exploration of the metrical dimension, on the assumption that poets would not be overly constrained by the iambic trimeter, which, after all, was the most natural speaking verse according to Aristotle. The book analyses the word order of tragic dialogue in pragmatic terms, arguing that, in sentences, words functioning as Topic (the ‘starting point’ of an utterance) or Focus (the most salient piece of information) will come early, and that other less important words will follow. Similarly, the position of adjectives within noun phrases is analysed as a function of their relative salience rather than in terms of their semantics. This approach aims to account for word order in sentences generally, but it also allows for a new interpretation of familiar phenomena in Greek, such as ‘postponed interrogatives’. The book concludes with a commentary on the word order in four passages of Sophocles' Electra.Less
This book approaches word order in Greek tragic dialogue from the perspective of language rather than metre. The tragic poets engaged in mimesis of natural dialogue; therefore the analysis of the linguistic characteristics of the dialogue precedes exploration of the metrical dimension, on the assumption that poets would not be overly constrained by the iambic trimeter, which, after all, was the most natural speaking verse according to Aristotle. The book analyses the word order of tragic dialogue in pragmatic terms, arguing that, in sentences, words functioning as Topic (the ‘starting point’ of an utterance) or Focus (the most salient piece of information) will come early, and that other less important words will follow. Similarly, the position of adjectives within noun phrases is analysed as a function of their relative salience rather than in terms of their semantics. This approach aims to account for word order in sentences generally, but it also allows for a new interpretation of familiar phenomena in Greek, such as ‘postponed interrogatives’. The book concludes with a commentary on the word order in four passages of Sophocles' Electra.
Philippa Foot
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198235088
- eISBN:
- 9780191597428
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198235089.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The aim of the book is to determine the category to which the moral evaluation of human actions belongs. This involves making certain distinctions in the logical grammar of evaluations. Drawing upon ...
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The aim of the book is to determine the category to which the moral evaluation of human actions belongs. This involves making certain distinctions in the logical grammar of evaluations. Drawing upon Peter Geach's distinction, argues that ‘predicative’ adjectives and ‘attributive’ adjectives are logically different: a predicative adjective, such as ‘red’, operates independently of any noun to which it is attached, whereas an ‘attributive’ adjective, such as ‘good’, depends radically on that which is said to be good. The general thesis is that moral judgement of human actions and dispositions is one of those genres of evaluation that is characterized by the fact that its objects are living things.Less
The aim of the book is to determine the category to which the moral evaluation of human actions belongs. This involves making certain distinctions in the logical grammar of evaluations. Drawing upon Peter Geach's distinction, argues that ‘predicative’ adjectives and ‘attributive’ adjectives are logically different: a predicative adjective, such as ‘red’, operates independently of any noun to which it is attached, whereas an ‘attributive’ adjective, such as ‘good’, depends radically on that which is said to be good. The general thesis is that moral judgement of human actions and dispositions is one of those genres of evaluation that is characterized by the fact that its objects are living things.
Frank Sibley
John Benson, Betty Redfern, and Jeremy Roxbee Cox (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198238997
- eISBN:
- 9780191598418
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198238991.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
Includes some of the most significant of Sibley’s published papers as well as five new essays previously unpublished. The point of the book is not a systematic introduction to aesthetics, but rather ...
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Includes some of the most significant of Sibley’s published papers as well as five new essays previously unpublished. The point of the book is not a systematic introduction to aesthetics, but rather a theoretical discussion of some core topics. The first three papers study the difference and the relation between aesthetic and non-aesthetic properties. Papers 4–6 show how aesthetic properties depend on non-aesthetic ones. In papers 7–9 is discussed the difficulty in finding criteria of aesthetic merit. The distinction between attributive and predicative use of adjectives and its application to the cases of beautiful and ugly is considered in Chs 12–14. The nature of aesthetic and the relation between concepts of the aesthetic of art are the arguments of papers 10 and 15. Finally, papers 11 and 16 investigate the impossibility of isolating and defining a ‘purely music’ experience and illustrate the ontological status of works of visual art respectively.Less
Includes some of the most significant of Sibley’s published papers as well as five new essays previously unpublished. The point of the book is not a systematic introduction to aesthetics, but rather a theoretical discussion of some core topics. The first three papers study the difference and the relation between aesthetic and non-aesthetic properties. Papers 4–6 show how aesthetic properties depend on non-aesthetic ones. In papers 7–9 is discussed the difficulty in finding criteria of aesthetic merit. The distinction between attributive and predicative use of adjectives and its application to the cases of beautiful and ugly is considered in Chs 12–14. The nature of aesthetic and the relation between concepts of the aesthetic of art are the arguments of papers 10 and 15. Finally, papers 11 and 16 investigate the impossibility of isolating and defining a ‘purely music’ experience and illustrate the ontological status of works of visual art respectively.
John Löwenadler
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264607
- eISBN:
- 9780191734366
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264607.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter discusses the implications of an acceptability test designed to evaluate the Swedish native speakers's reluctance to form the neuter gender of certain adjectives such as the defective ...
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This chapter discusses the implications of an acceptability test designed to evaluate the Swedish native speakers's reluctance to form the neuter gender of certain adjectives such as the defective adjectives. This chapter provides some observations related to the Löwenadler paper. While the paper focused on the certain Swedish adjective forms which are regarded as ungrammatical by most Swedish speakers, the present chapter places emphasis on the actual evaluation of the logically possible yet unacceptable neuter alternatives. To provide a better understanding of the reluctance of speakers to use neuter gender, the chapter provides some additional factors aside from the inflectional process that define the judgements derived from the acceptability test.Less
This chapter discusses the implications of an acceptability test designed to evaluate the Swedish native speakers's reluctance to form the neuter gender of certain adjectives such as the defective adjectives. This chapter provides some observations related to the Löwenadler paper. While the paper focused on the certain Swedish adjective forms which are regarded as ungrammatical by most Swedish speakers, the present chapter places emphasis on the actual evaluation of the logically possible yet unacceptable neuter alternatives. To provide a better understanding of the reluctance of speakers to use neuter gender, the chapter provides some additional factors aside from the inflectional process that define the judgements derived from the acceptability test.
Jason Stanley
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199288038
- eISBN:
- 9780191603679
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199288038.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Many expressions in natural language, such as adjectives like tall and flat, or verbs such as like and regret are gradable, meaning that they occur in comparative constructions. It makes sense to ...
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Many expressions in natural language, such as adjectives like tall and flat, or verbs such as like and regret are gradable, meaning that they occur in comparative constructions. It makes sense to speak of something being taller than another thing, or regretting something more than something else. It is argued that ‘know’ is not a gradable expression. This raises serious worries for versions of contextualism that treat ‘know’ as denoting relations of varying strength, relative to different contexts of use.Less
Many expressions in natural language, such as adjectives like tall and flat, or verbs such as like and regret are gradable, meaning that they occur in comparative constructions. It makes sense to speak of something being taller than another thing, or regretting something more than something else. It is argued that ‘know’ is not a gradable expression. This raises serious worries for versions of contextualism that treat ‘know’ as denoting relations of varying strength, relative to different contexts of use.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0057
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of ...
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In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.Less
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0058
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of ...
More
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective,and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.Less
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective,and the frequent shifts between the two classes, with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.
David Langslow
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198153023
- eISBN:
- 9780191715211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198153023.003.0059
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of ...
More
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes,with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.Less
In this chapter nominal forms — nouns (or substantives) and adjectives — as parts of speech as considered by Wakermagel are considered. Lecture 6 discusses and illustrates in turn the use of adjectives as nouns and of nouns as adjectives (including the example of Lat. uber). Lecture 7 concludes the discussion of the boundary line between noun and adjective, and the frequent shifts between the two classes,with special reference to proper names and adjectives. The chapter then offers further observations on nouns and adjectives, in particular on proper names and appellatives, and on certain special uses of derived adjectives: among the latter, the use of a derived adjective in alternation with a genitive, in Greek, Latin, Germanic, and other languages, occupies all of Lecture 8.
Idan Landau
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544325
- eISBN:
- 9780191720536
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544325.003.0010
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
Evaluative adjectives (e.g. rude, clever) display a systematic alternation, which brings about a cluster of syntactic and semantic changes. The adjectival variants are related by the joint ...
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Evaluative adjectives (e.g. rude, clever) display a systematic alternation, which brings about a cluster of syntactic and semantic changes. The adjectival variants are related by the joint application of two operators: A lexical saturation operator (also seen in verbal passive) and a syntactic reification operator (also seen in nominalization).Less
Evaluative adjectives (e.g. rude, clever) display a systematic alternation, which brings about a cluster of syntactic and semantic changes. The adjectival variants are related by the joint application of two operators: A lexical saturation operator (also seen in verbal passive) and a syntactic reification operator (also seen in nominalization).
P. M. Fraser
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264287
- eISBN:
- 9780191753978
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264287.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
An analysis of the civic and regional terminology of Greek communal life, and especially the use of the term τὸ ἐθνικόν, is an essential preliminary to understanding how the Greeks considered ...
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An analysis of the civic and regional terminology of Greek communal life, and especially the use of the term τὸ ἐθνικόν, is an essential preliminary to understanding how the Greeks considered national and civic identity once the regular framework of polis-life was established. With the development of grammatical and linguistic analysis, words denoting membership of a community were called ἐθνικά, the nominal adjectival form which we find regularly in Stephanus of Byzantium and in lexica: τὸ ἐθνικόν (ὁ) δεῖνα. The history of the term formed a distinct branch of the traditional studies of the grammarians and lexicographers. This chapter is concerned with the ethnic significance of the adjective as a term used to denote nationality or origin (in the Greek sense), but inevitably it takes account of other meanings of the term when necessary.Less
An analysis of the civic and regional terminology of Greek communal life, and especially the use of the term τὸ ἐθνικόν, is an essential preliminary to understanding how the Greeks considered national and civic identity once the regular framework of polis-life was established. With the development of grammatical and linguistic analysis, words denoting membership of a community were called ἐθνικά, the nominal adjectival form which we find regularly in Stephanus of Byzantium and in lexica: τὸ ἐθνικόν (ὁ) δεῖνα. The history of the term formed a distinct branch of the traditional studies of the grammarians and lexicographers. This chapter is concerned with the ethnic significance of the adjective as a term used to denote nationality or origin (in the Greek sense), but inevitably it takes account of other meanings of the term when necessary.
P. M. Fraser
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197264287
- eISBN:
- 9780191753978
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264287.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter focuses on the second aspect of associative nomenclature, that of adjectives terminating in -ειος. This termination, though rarely used as a simple ethnic form when no ambiguity existed ...
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This chapter focuses on the second aspect of associative nomenclature, that of adjectives terminating in -ειος. This termination, though rarely used as a simple ethnic form when no ambiguity existed between homonymous cities, has a perfectly valid role as an ethnic when need arose for a differentiation in such cases. The chapter examines its usage in general before turning to consideration of it as a termination of the names used for coins issued by independent rulers and states.Less
This chapter focuses on the second aspect of associative nomenclature, that of adjectives terminating in -ειος. This termination, though rarely used as a simple ethnic form when no ambiguity existed between homonymous cities, has a perfectly valid role as an ethnic when need arose for a differentiation in such cases. The chapter examines its usage in general before turning to consideration of it as a termination of the names used for coins issued by independent rulers and states.
Ronald W. Langacker
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331967
- eISBN:
- 9780199868209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331967.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of ...
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The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of meaning, basic categories—notably noun and verb—have plausible conceptual characterizations at both the prototype level (for typical examples) and the schema level (valid for all instances). The prototypes are based on conceptual archetypes: objects for nouns, and actions for verbs. The schemas are independent of any particular conceptual content, residing instead in basic cognitive abilities immanent in the archetypes: for nouns, grouping and reification; in the case of verbs, the ability to apprend relationships and to track their evolution through time. An expression's grammatical category specifically depends on the nature of its profile (not its overall content). Thus a noun profiles a thing (defined abstractly as any product of grouping and reification), while a verb profiles a process (a relationship tracked through time). Expressions that profile non-processual relationships include adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. Relational expressions can be categorized in different ways, depending on factors like the number and type of focused participants, whether the profiled relation is simplex or complex, and whether it is apprehended holistically or sequentially. These characterizations prove efficacious in describing how relational expressions function as noun modifiers and in clausal organization.Less
The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of meaning, basic categories—notably noun and verb—have plausible conceptual characterizations at both the prototype level (for typical examples) and the schema level (valid for all instances). The prototypes are based on conceptual archetypes: objects for nouns, and actions for verbs. The schemas are independent of any particular conceptual content, residing instead in basic cognitive abilities immanent in the archetypes: for nouns, grouping and reification; in the case of verbs, the ability to apprend relationships and to track their evolution through time. An expression's grammatical category specifically depends on the nature of its profile (not its overall content). Thus a noun profiles a thing (defined abstractly as any product of grouping and reification), while a verb profiles a process (a relationship tracked through time). Expressions that profile non-processual relationships include adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. Relational expressions can be categorized in different ways, depending on factors like the number and type of focused participants, whether the profiled relation is simplex or complex, and whether it is apprehended holistically or sequentially. These characterizations prove efficacious in describing how relational expressions function as noun modifiers and in clausal organization.
Regine Eckardt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199262601
- eISBN:
- 9780191718939
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199262601.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics
This chapter focuses on lauter, a determiner in German which carries peculiar properties. A survey of older uses of lauter in the sense of ‘pure’, ‘unpolluted’, but also ‘mere’, offers a starting ...
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This chapter focuses on lauter, a determiner in German which carries peculiar properties. A survey of older uses of lauter in the sense of ‘pure’, ‘unpolluted’, but also ‘mere’, offers a starting point for an analysis of synchronic lauter that does justice to the grammatical differences between the item and other, apparently near-synonym determiners like einige (some) or viele (many). It is argued that the word has retained its older adjectival character, presumably in order to avoid violation of the Keenan/Stavy universal for determiners. This case, hence, corroborates hypotheses in typological work on determiners.Less
This chapter focuses on lauter, a determiner in German which carries peculiar properties. A survey of older uses of lauter in the sense of ‘pure’, ‘unpolluted’, but also ‘mere’, offers a starting point for an analysis of synchronic lauter that does justice to the grammatical differences between the item and other, apparently near-synonym determiners like einige (some) or viele (many). It is argued that the word has retained its older adjectival character, presumably in order to avoid violation of the Keenan/Stavy universal for determiners. This case, hence, corroborates hypotheses in typological work on determiners.
William Croft
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198299554
- eISBN:
- 9780191708091
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198299554.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Most grammatical theories assume that the parts of speech — noun, verb, adjective — are categories of particular languages, but may be absent in some languages. But standard analyses are arbitrary ...
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Most grammatical theories assume that the parts of speech — noun, verb, adjective — are categories of particular languages, but may be absent in some languages. But standard analyses are arbitrary and inconsistent about the constructions used to define syntactic categories, which leads some theorists to lump words into fewer categories and others to split words into more categories. One can be rigorous and consistent in analysis by using the same constructions across languages, namely the constructions denoting the propositional acts of reference, predication and modification, and comparing the structural coding and behavioral potential of semantic classes of lexical roots. This rigorous approach leads to universal prototypes for noun (reference to an object), verb (predication of an action), and adjective (modification by a property). Language-specific categories are represented as semantic maps on a universal conceptual space, constrained by the part of speech prototypes.Less
Most grammatical theories assume that the parts of speech — noun, verb, adjective — are categories of particular languages, but may be absent in some languages. But standard analyses are arbitrary and inconsistent about the constructions used to define syntactic categories, which leads some theorists to lump words into fewer categories and others to split words into more categories. One can be rigorous and consistent in analysis by using the same constructions across languages, namely the constructions denoting the propositional acts of reference, predication and modification, and comparing the structural coding and behavioral potential of semantic classes of lexical roots. This rigorous approach leads to universal prototypes for noun (reference to an object), verb (predication of an action), and adjective (modification by a property). Language-specific categories are represented as semantic maps on a universal conceptual space, constrained by the part of speech prototypes.
Torsten Meissner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199280087
- eISBN:
- 9780191707100
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199280087.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book deals with one aspect of Greek and Proto-Indo-European nominal morphology: the formation, inflection, and semantics of s-stem nouns and adjectives. It uncovers the mechanisms of their ...
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This book deals with one aspect of Greek and Proto-Indo-European nominal morphology: the formation, inflection, and semantics of s-stem nouns and adjectives. It uncovers the mechanisms of their creation and shows their limitation. The established view that the nouns are an unproductive category is challenged; at the same time, the expanding and partly changing nature of the basis governing the creation of the adjectives is explained. Morphology and semantics are studied in tandem, and a large chronological span of the Greek language is covered. The historical side is then extended into prehistory, and in particular the Greek evidence is tested against recent theories on Proto-Indo-European ablaut, leading to a reassessment of the morphonological characteristics in question.Less
This book deals with one aspect of Greek and Proto-Indo-European nominal morphology: the formation, inflection, and semantics of s-stem nouns and adjectives. It uncovers the mechanisms of their creation and shows their limitation. The established view that the nouns are an unproductive category is challenged; at the same time, the expanding and partly changing nature of the basis governing the creation of the adjectives is explained. Morphology and semantics are studied in tandem, and a large chronological span of the Greek language is covered. The historical side is then extended into prehistory, and in particular the Greek evidence is tested against recent theories on Proto-Indo-European ablaut, leading to a reassessment of the morphonological characteristics in question.
Richard S. Kayne
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195179163
- eISBN:
- 9780199788330
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179163.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter explores unpronounced elements in the context of a discussion of the English words few, little, many, much, and numerous. As is well known, few has regular comparative and superlative ...
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This chapter explores unpronounced elements in the context of a discussion of the English words few, little, many, much, and numerous. As is well known, few has regular comparative and superlative forms that make it natural to take the word as an adjective. Given this, the general parallelism between few and little, many, and much, combined with the more specific fact that they, too, have comparative and superlative forms, leads to the natural conclusion that little, many, and much are also adjectives. In the phrases many booksor few books, many and few are presumed to modify NUMBER rather than directly modifying books. This claim can be elevated to a claim about universal grammar (UG): in all languages, modifiers with the interpretation of many or few necessarily modify NUMBER (or number).Less
This chapter explores unpronounced elements in the context of a discussion of the English words few, little, many, much, and numerous. As is well known, few has regular comparative and superlative forms that make it natural to take the word as an adjective. Given this, the general parallelism between few and little, many, and much, combined with the more specific fact that they, too, have comparative and superlative forms, leads to the natural conclusion that little, many, and much are also adjectives. In the phrases many booksor few books, many and few are presumed to modify NUMBER rather than directly modifying books. This claim can be elevated to a claim about universal grammar (UG): in all languages, modifiers with the interpretation of many or few necessarily modify NUMBER (or number).
Ronald K. S. Macaulay
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195173819
- eISBN:
- 9780199788361
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195173819.003.0010
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
As had been found in the previous study in Ayr, middle-class speakers used derived adverbs in -ly significantly more frequently than working-class speakers. This is true of both adults and ...
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As had been found in the previous study in Ayr, middle-class speakers used derived adverbs in -ly significantly more frequently than working-class speakers. This is true of both adults and adolescents. The middle-class speakers also use very and quite significantly more than the working-class speakers, but there are no differences in the use of just. The adolescents rarely use very, preferring pure and dead. The middle-class speakers also use evaluative adjectives twice as frequently as the working-class speakers.Less
As had been found in the previous study in Ayr, middle-class speakers used derived adverbs in -ly significantly more frequently than working-class speakers. This is true of both adults and adolescents. The middle-class speakers also use very and quite significantly more than the working-class speakers, but there are no differences in the use of just. The adolescents rarely use very, preferring pure and dead. The middle-class speakers also use evaluative adjectives twice as frequently as the working-class speakers.
Helma Dik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279296
- eISBN:
- 9780191706905
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279296.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter turns from the ordering of constituents in the clause to the internal ordering of constituents themselves. In particular, it discusses the position of some frequent adjectives and other ...
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This chapter turns from the ordering of constituents in the clause to the internal ordering of constituents themselves. In particular, it discusses the position of some frequent adjectives and other modifiers vis-à-vis their nouns.Less
This chapter turns from the ordering of constituents in the clause to the internal ordering of constituents themselves. In particular, it discusses the position of some frequent adjectives and other modifiers vis-à-vis their nouns.
A. M. Devine and Laurence D. Stephens
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195181685
- eISBN:
- 9780199789146
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181685.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter analyzes the interaction of semantic and pragmatic factors in conditioning the order of adjectives relative to the noun and of stacked adjectives relative to one another. It covers ...
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This chapter analyzes the interaction of semantic and pragmatic factors in conditioning the order of adjectives relative to the noun and of stacked adjectives relative to one another. It covers intersectives, adjectives of age, evaluation and measure, as well as some quantifiers and demonstratives.Less
This chapter analyzes the interaction of semantic and pragmatic factors in conditioning the order of adjectives relative to the noun and of stacked adjectives relative to one another. It covers intersectives, adjectives of age, evaluation and measure, as well as some quantifiers and demonstratives.
