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Of nouns, and kinds, and properties, and why one D is null or not

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2016

Diana Guillemin
Diana Guillemin*
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Australia
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Abstract

This paper assumes that the basic denotation of nouns can be that of kind or property and that the determiner system of a language is a direct consequence of this cross-linguistic variation. An analysis of how definiteness and specificity are marked across three languages with different determiner systems, namely, English, French and Mauritian Creole (MC), provides evidence of the co-relation between noun denotation and determiner system. Languages with kind denoting nouns (English and MC) admit bare nominal arguments, which are barred in French, whose nouns denote properties. However, English and MC differ in that English has an overt definite article, which is a lacking in MC. This null element requires licensing by an overt specificity marker in some syntactic environments. The English and MC definite articles are analyzed as operators that quantify over sets of kind denoting nouns, and they serve a different function from the French definite article, which is specified for number and selects properties.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article propose que les noms dénotent des espèces ou des propriétés et que le système des déterminants dans une langue donnée résulte de cette variation interlinguistique. En offrant une analyse des marqueurs de définitude et de spécificité dans trois langues avec des systèmes de déterminants différents, à savoir l’anglais, le français et le créole mauritien (CM), nous apportons des arguments en faveur de la co-relation entre la dénotation nominale et le système des déterminants. Les langues avec des noms dénotant des espèces (anglais et CM) autorisent les noms nus comme arguments; au contraire du français où les noms dénotent des propriétés. Cependant, l’anglais et le CM se distinguent par la présence d’un article défini visible en anglais, mais pas en CM. Cet élément nul est gouverné par la présence d’un marqueur visible de spécificité dans certains contextes syntaxiques. Les articles définis de l’anglais et du CM sont analysés comme des opérateurs sur des ensembles de noms qui dénotent des espèces et ils jouent un rôle différent de celui que joue l’article défini du français, qui est spécifié pour le nombre et qui sélectionne des propriétés.

Keywords

bare nounsdefinitenessdeterminerquantificationspecificitytype shiftingnoms nusdéfinitudedéterminantquantificationspécificitéconversion de type
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 60 , Issue 3 , November 2015 , pp. 259 - 288
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association/Association canadienne de linguistique 2015 

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