On the semantic properties of mass and count nouns in Guajajára (Tenetehára)
In this paper we show that Guajajára has grammaticalized the distinction between mass and count nouns, but that the coding
of this distinction is different from the systems of coding in classifier languages, number-marking languages, and number-neutral languages
(Chierchia 1998a, 1998b, 2010; Wilhelm 2008). As a result, we conclude that Guajajára presents a
challenge to the tripartite classification of languages proposed in Chierchia’s work, since Guajajára number marking is non-inflectional and
optional when plural is already expressed by other quantificational expressions. Furthermore, in Guajajára notional mass nouns can pluralize
and directly combine with numerals without the mediation of container or measure constructions in contexts where conventional and
non-conventional container and units of measurement are implied. This last observation suggests that coercion is not a mechanism that
operates in this language.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Numerals and the mass/count distinction
- 3.Plural number in Guajajára
- 4.Quantifiers in Guajajára
- 5.Final remarks
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Abbreviations
-
References
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Cited by (2)
Cited by 2 other publications
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