Semantics for Counting and Measuring
Published on 22. March 2017
978-1-316-94425-7 (ISBN)
Description
The use of numerals in counting differs quite dramatically across languages. Some languages grammaticalise a contrast between count nouns (three cats, three books) vs 'non-count' or mass nouns (milk, mud), marking this distinction in different ways. Others use a system of numeral classifiers, while yet others use a combination of both. This book draws attention to the contrast between counting and measuring, and shows that it is central to our understanding of how we use numerical expressions, classifiers and count nouns in different languages. It reviews some of the more recent major linguistic results in the semantics of numericals, counting and measuring, and theories of the mass/count distinction, and presents the author's new research on the topic. The book draws heavily on crosslinguistic research, and presents in-depth case studies of the mass/count distinction and counting and measuring in a number of typologically unrelated languages. It also includes chapters on classifiers, constructions and adjectival uses of measure phrases.
Reviews / Votes
'At the interface between cognition, language, and ontology, traditional views on mass vs count are seriously challenged by languages such as Hungarian, Brazilian Portuguese and Yudja. Rothstein brilliantly deals with these difficult issues by distinguishing counting and measuring as two types of semantic operation. A work of great breadth that opens new research avenues.' Roberta Pires de Oliveira, National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil and Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, BrazilMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
File size
1,82 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-316-94425-7 (9781316944257)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Susan Rothstein
Semantics for Counting and Measuring
Book
05/2019
Cambridge University Press
€48.70
Shipment within 15-20 days
Susan Rothstein
Semantics for Counting and Measuring
Book
04/2017
Cambridge University Press
€140.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Susan Rothstein is a Professor in the Department of English Literature and Linguistics at the Faculty of Humanities, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. She has written more than fifty articles and is the author of two previous books, Predicates and their Subjects (2001) and Structuring Events (2004), as well as editor or co-editor of several others.
Content
List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Numericals and how they work; 3. Counting and measuring; 4. The mass count distinction; 5. Object mass nouns, measuring and counting; 6. A crosslinguistic perspective; 7. The universal grinder; 8. Classifiers; 9. Measures; 10. Additive and attributive uses of measures; 11. In conclusion; ENVOI; References.
