Mass Terms: Some Philosophical Problems

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Reference, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Grammar
Cover of the book Mass Terms: Some Philosophical Problems by , Springer Netherlands
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781402041105
Publisher: Springer Netherlands Publication: November 8, 2007
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781402041105
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication: November 8, 2007
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

I. MASS TERMS, COUNT TERMS, AND SORTAL TERMS Central examples of mass terms are easy to come by. 'Water', 'smoke', 'gold', etc. , differ in their syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic properties from count terms such as 'man', 'star', 'wastebasket', etc. Syntactically, it seems, mass terms do, but singular count terms do not, admit the quantifier phrases 'much', 'an amount of', 'a little', etc. The typical indefinite article for them is 'some' (unstressed)!, and this article cannot be used with singular count terms. Count terms, but not mass terms, use the quantifiers 'each', 'every', 'some', 'few', 'many'; and they use 'a(n)' as the indefinite article. They can, unlike the mass terms, take numerals as prefixes. Mass terms seem not to have a plural. Semantically, philo­ sophers have characterized count terms as denoting (classes of?) indi­ vidual objects, whereas what mass terms denote are cumulative and dissective. (That is, a mass term is supposed to be true of any sum of things (stuff) it is true of, and true of any part of anything of which it is true). Pragmatically, it seems that speakers use count terms when they wish to refer to individual objects, or when they wish to reidentify a particular already introduced into discoursc. Given a "space appropriate" to a count term C, it makes sense to ask how many C's there are in that space.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

I. MASS TERMS, COUNT TERMS, AND SORTAL TERMS Central examples of mass terms are easy to come by. 'Water', 'smoke', 'gold', etc. , differ in their syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic properties from count terms such as 'man', 'star', 'wastebasket', etc. Syntactically, it seems, mass terms do, but singular count terms do not, admit the quantifier phrases 'much', 'an amount of', 'a little', etc. The typical indefinite article for them is 'some' (unstressed)!, and this article cannot be used with singular count terms. Count terms, but not mass terms, use the quantifiers 'each', 'every', 'some', 'few', 'many'; and they use 'a(n)' as the indefinite article. They can, unlike the mass terms, take numerals as prefixes. Mass terms seem not to have a plural. Semantically, philo­ sophers have characterized count terms as denoting (classes of?) indi­ vidual objects, whereas what mass terms denote are cumulative and dissective. (That is, a mass term is supposed to be true of any sum of things (stuff) it is true of, and true of any part of anything of which it is true). Pragmatically, it seems that speakers use count terms when they wish to refer to individual objects, or when they wish to reidentify a particular already introduced into discoursc. Given a "space appropriate" to a count term C, it makes sense to ask how many C's there are in that space.

More books from Springer Netherlands

Cover of the book Tertiary Frogs from Central Europe by
Cover of the book Myocardial Viability by
Cover of the book Calculation of Demographic Parameters in Tropical Livestock Herds by
Cover of the book Literature, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences by
Cover of the book The OAS and the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights by
Cover of the book Medical Aid at Accidents by
Cover of the book A Dictionary of Scientific Units by
Cover of the book Understanding and Managing Urban Water in Transition by
Cover of the book Water Waves and Ship Hydrodynamics by
Cover of the book Bone Metastases by
Cover of the book Mammalian Thermogenesis by
Cover of the book Alfred Schutz's Sociological Aspect of Literature by
Cover of the book Law and Democracy in Neil MacCormick's Legal and Political Theory by
Cover of the book “Diego Portales: Interpretative Essays on the Man and Times” by
Cover of the book Critical Choices and Critical Care by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy