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English Noun Phrases from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective: Current issues
Edited by Lotte Sommerer and Evelien Keizer
[Studies in Language Companion Series 221] 2022
► pp. 27–78

Refining and re-defining secondary determiners in relation to primary determiners

| University of Leuven

The aim of this study is to delineate the functional category of English secondary determiners more precisely than in current reference grammars and in my own previous work. To provide a principled basis for a functional typology of secondary determiners, I firstly develop a typology of primary determiner (or ‘grounding’) types within the framework of Cognitive Grammar. Following Langacker, four main types are distinguished, and their referential and discursive properties are characterized: indefinite grounding, relative quantification, possessive grounding, and definite grounding. This typology then forms the starting point for drawing up a typology of the main types of instructions given by secondary determiners, i.e. to retrieve the type specifications of an instance newly introduced by an indefinite NP, to identify the correct antecedent of a definite NP, to relate a referent to another instance of the same type, or to refer to a generalized referent. Thirdly, modifier types that had been confused with secondary determiners in earlier work are distinguished from them on the basis of their semantics and formal behaviour, viz. focus markers, nominal aspectual modifiers, modal and temporal modifiers, and metadesignatives.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Functions fulfilled by elements in the English NP
  • 3.Primary grounding types
    • 3.1Indefinite grounding
      • 3.1.1Indefinite NPs with specific reference
      • 3.1.2Indefinite NPs with non-specific and generalized reference
    • 3.2Relative quantification
    • 3.3Possessive grounding
    • 3.4Definite grounding
    • 3.5Summary
  • 4.A typology of the meanings expressed by secondary determiners
    • 4.1Secondary determiners used in NPs designating non-retrievable and first mention referents
      • 4.1.1Secondary determiners expressing specificity
      • 4.1.2Secondary determiners indicating discursively retrievable type specifications
    • 4.2Secondary determiners used in NPs designating retrievable referents
      • 4.2.1Secondary determiners used with definite first mentions
      • 4.2.2Secondary determiners used in co-referential definite NPs
      • 4.2.3Secondary determiners used in definite NPs with associative anaphora
    • 4.3Generalized reference
      • 4.3.1Secondary determiners in NPs conveying reference to a generalization
      • 4.3.2Secondary determiners aiding implied reference to discourse-new instances of a generalization
    • 4.4Secondary determiners used in NPs designating instances of a reference mass
      • 4.4.1Secondary determiners used in NPs designating parts of a given reference mass
        • 4.4.1.1Secondary determiners used in NPs designating non-identifiable parts of a given reference mass
        • 4.4.1.2Secondary determiners used in NPs designating identifiable parts of a given reference mass
      • 4.4.2Secondary determiners relating instances to other instances of an inductively inferable reference mass
        • 4.4.2.1Secondary determiners relating non-identifiable instances to other instances of an inductively inferable reference mass
        • 4.4.2.2Secondary determiners coding instances as retrievable via other instances of an inductively inferable reference mass
    • 4.5Conclusion
  • 5.Modifier types confused with secondary determiners
    • 5.1Focus marker
      • 5.1.1Semantics
      • 5.1.2Grammatical behaviour
    • 5.2Nominal aspectual modifiers
      • 5.2.1Semantics
      • 5.2.2Grammatical behaviour
    • 5.3Modal and temporal modifiers
      • 5.3.1Semantics
      • 5.3.2Formal behaviour
    • 5.4Metadesignative
      • 5.4.1Semantics
      • 5.4.2Formal behaviour
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Datebases cited
Published online: 21 January 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.221.01dav
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