Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Common nouns as modally non-rigid restricted variables

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Linguistics and Philosophy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I argue that common nouns should be analyzed as variables, rather than as predicates which take variables as arguments. This necessitates several unusual features to the analysis, such as allowing variables to be modally non-rigid, and assigning their values compositionally. However, treating common nouns as variables offers a variety of theoretical and empirical advantages over a more traditional analysis: It predicts the conservativity of nominal quantification, simplifies the analysis of articleless languages, derives the weak reading of sentences with donkey anaphora, solves the proportion problem presented by quantifiers like ‘most’, improves the analysis of the temperature paradox, allows a more unified analysis of bare plurals, and regularizes the correspondence between syntactic categories and semantic types.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barker, C. (1996). Presuppositions for proportional quantifiers. Natural Language Semantics, 4, 237–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barker, C., & Shan, C.-S. (2008). Donkey anaphora is in-scope binding. Semantics and Pragmatics, 1, 1–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barwise, J., & Cooper, R. (1981). Generalized quantifiers and natural language. Linguistics and Philosophy, 4, 159–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, M. R. (1975). Some extensions of a Montague fragment of English. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Linguistics Club.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, G. N. (1977a). Reference to kinds in English. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts.

  • Carlson, G. N. (1977b). A unified analysis of the English bare plural. Linguistics and Philosophy, 1, 413–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chierchia, G. (1992). Anaphora and dynamic binding. Linguistics and Philosophy, 15, 111–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chierchia, G. (1995). Dynamics of meaning: Anaphora, presupposition, and the theory of grammar. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chierchia, G., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (1990). Meaning and grammar: An introduction to semantics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dekker, P. (1993). Existential disclosure. Linguistics and Philosophy, 16, 561–587.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diesing, M. (1992). Indefinites. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dowty, D., Wall, R. E., & Peters, S. (1981). Introduction to Montague semantics. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fara, D. G. (2015). Names are predicates. Philosophical Review, 124, 59–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, D. (1999). Reconstruction, binding theory, and the interpretation of chains. Linguistic Inquiry, 30, 157–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, D. (2002). Antecedent-contained deletion and the copy theory of movement. Linguistic Inquiry, 33, 63–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. (1879). Begriffschrift: eine der arithmetischen nachgebildete Formelsprache des reinen Denkens. Halle: L. Nebert.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frege, G. (1892). Über Sinn und Bedeutung. Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik, 100, 25–50. English translation: On sense and reference. In P. Geach & M. Black (Eds.), Translations from the philosophical writings of Gottlob Frege (pp. 56–78). 3rd edn., Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980.

  • Gallin, D. (1975). Intensional and higher-order modal logic. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamut, L. T. F. (1991). Logic, language and meaning, volume 2: Intensional logic and logical grammar. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerstner-Link, C., & Krifka, M. (1993). Genericity. In J. Jacobs, A. von Stechow, W. Sternefeld, & T. Vennemann (Eds.), Syntax: An international handbook of contemporary research (pp. 966–978). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, I. (1982). The semantics of definite and indefinite noun phrases. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heim, I., & Kratzer, A. (1998). Semantics in generative grammar. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, G. E., & Cresswell, M. J. (1968). An introduction to modal logic. London: Metheun.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, P. (1992) Antecedent contained deletion in a variable-free semantics. In C. Barker, D. Dowty (Eds.), Proceedings of SALT II (pp. 193–213). https://doi.org/10.3765/salt.v2i0.3027.

  • Jacobson, P. (1993). i-within-i effects in a variable-free semantics and a categorial syntax. In P. Dekker, M. Stokhof (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ninth Amsterdam Colloquium (pp. 349–386), Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam.

  • Jacobson, P. (1999). Towards a variable-free semantics. Linguistics and Philosophy, 22, 117–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, P. (2000). Paycheck pronouns, Bach-Peters sentences, and variable-free semantics. Natural Language Semantics, 8, 77–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, P. (2007). Direct compositionality and variable-free semantics: The case of “Principle B” effects. In P. Jacobson & C. Barker (Eds.), Direct compositionality (pp. 191–236). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, P. (2008). Direct compositionality and variable-free semantics. In K. Johnson (Ed.), Topics in ellipsis (pp. 30–68). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanazawa, M. (1994). Weak vs. strong readings of donkey sentences and monotonicity inference in a dynamic setting. Linguistics and Philosophy, 17, 109–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, E. L., & Stavi, J. (1986). A semantic characterization of natural language determiners. Linguistics and Philosophy, 9, 253–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kripke, S. A. (1980). Naming and necessity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lappin, S., & Francez, N. (1994). E-type pronouns, i-sums, and donkey anaphora. Linguistics and Philosophy, 17, 391–428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasersohn, P. (2005). The temperature paradox as evidence for a presuppositional analysis of definite descriptions. Linguistic Inquiry, 36, 127–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasersohn, P. (2011). Mass nouns and plurals. In C. Maienborn, K. von Heusinger, & P. Portner (Eds.), Semantics: An international handbook of natural language meaning, volume 2 (pp. 1131–1153). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lasersohn, P. (2017). Subjectivity and perspective in truth-theoretic semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepore, E., & Ludwig, K. (2007). Donald Davidson’s truth-theoretic semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, D. K. (1975). Adverbs of quantification. In E. L. Keenan (Ed.), Formal semantics of natural language (pp. 3–15). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague, R. (1968). Pragmatics. In R. Klibansky (Ed.), Contemporary philosophy: A survey (pp. 102–122). Florence: La Nuova Italia Editrice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague, R. (1970). Universal grammar. Theoria, 36, 373–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague, R. (1973). The proper treatment of quantification in ordinary English. In K. J. J. Hintikka, J. M. E. Moravcsik, P. Suppes (Eds.), Approaches to natural language (pp. 221–242). Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing Company.

  • Putnam, H. (1962). It ain’t necessarily so. The Journal of Philosophy, 59, 658–671.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quine, W. V. O. (1960). Word and object. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rayo, A., & Uzquiano, G. (2006) Absolute generality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Romero, M. (2008). The temperature paradox and temporal interpretation. Linguistic Inquiry, 39, 655–667.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romoli, J. (2015). A structural account of conservativity. Semantics-Syntax Interface, 2, 28–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (1910). Knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 11, 108–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauerland, U. (2004). The interpretation of traces. Natural Language Semantics, 12, 63–127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, B. (2001). Adverbial, descriptive reciprocals. In R. Hastings, B. Jackson & Z. Zvolenszky (Eds.), Proceedings of SALT XI (pp. 404–430). https://doi.org/10.3765/salt.v11i0.2838.

  • Schein, B. (1993). Plurals and events. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Fintel, K. (1994). Restrictions on quantifier domains. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts.

  • Westerståhl, D. (1985). Logical constants in quantifier languages. Linguistics and Philosophy, 8, 387–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, K. (1991). Studies in the semantics of generic noun phrases. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts.

  • Wilkinson, K. (1995). The semantics of the common noun kind. In G. N. Carlson & F. J. Pelletier (Eds.), The generic book (pp. 383–397). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Linguistics, MC-168, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 4080 Foreign Languages Building, 707 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Peter Lasersohn

Authors
  1. Peter Lasersohn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Lasersohn.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lasersohn, P. Common nouns as modally non-rigid restricted variables. Linguist and Philos 44, 363–424 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-019-09293-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-019-09293-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation