Chapter 6
Measure constructions in Hungarian and the semantics of the -nyi suffix
This paper examines the distribution and meaning of the -nyi suffix. -nyi naturally attaches to container classifiers and induces a measure interpretation of the container noun. I show that -nyi is not restricted to the dimension of volume but applies generally to count nouns. -nyi combines with N to create a measure head, analogous to expressions such as kilo. I maintain that being a measure head, N-nyi combines with a numeral to form a complex phrasal modifier. I then examine the semantics of -nyi itself. I show that it has two interpretations: it induces a measure reading of the N pohár in két pohár-nyi bor, and it forces an approximative interpretation when suffixed to an explicit measure expression as in kiló-nyi.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Measures with and without -nyi
- 3.
N-nyi is a measure head
- 4.Conditions for the occurrence and non-occurrence of -nyi
- 5.What is -nyi and what do -nyi phrases indicate?
- 6.-nyi as an approximative operator
-
7.Conclusions
-
Acknowledgements
-
Notes
-
References
References
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Cited by
Cited by 2 other publications
Farkas, Imola-Ágnes
2021.
Aspectual cognate objects in Hungarian.
Folia Linguistica 55:2
► pp. 389 ff.
Farkas, Imola-Ágnes
2021.
Aspectual cognate objects in Hungarian.
Folia Linguistica 0:0
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