A project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
We investigate abstract nouns (thought, satisfaction, knowledge, experience) and verbal predicates of eventualities (walk, sleep, cross the street).
We find countability distinctions in both abstract nouns and predicates of eventualities:
three thoughts/experiences vs. #three knowledges/satisfactions
walk/sleep for an hour/#in an hour vs. cross the river in 10 minutes/#for 10 minutes
This project asks questions such as:
What underpins such countability distinctions for abstract nouns and predicates of eventualities?
To what can theories of countability for concrete nouns such as table, furniture, lentils, and mud be extended to shed light on the countability of predicates of eventualities and abstract nouns?
Intuitively, spatiotemporal criteria serve as a key factor in the individuation of physical objects denoted by concrete Ns. However, the identification/individuation of eventualities in the denotation of verbal predicates conceptually depends on certain parameters of eventualities, such as physical properties of their participants, temporal traces, locations and the like. The relation of abstract Ns to space-time is mysterious, and given that the class of abstract Ns is highly heterogeneous, identifying an overarching feature that accounts for just what makes an abstract N count, or mass, seems an elusive goal.
We explore how predicates of eventualities (walk, rain, eat) can be indirectly measured via temporal measures on their run times, and object-induced measure functions. For example, walk for an hour and walk from point A to point B.
We investigate how nouns that do not denote physical objects or stuff can be grammatically individuated indirectly via anchoring to associated (bounded) eventualities, propositions and objects. For example, the minister's statement lasted an hour/is on the desk/was not true and Alex has three passions: ice cream, wine and cheese.
This project developed out of an earlier DFG funded project: C09 - A frame-based analysis of countability, part of CRC 991 at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (2013-2020). Project C09 developed a theory of the mass/count distinction for concrete nouns such as chair, furniture, rice, and mud.
The current project, which will run until 2023, builds on this earlier work but focuses on the countability of predicates of eventualities (run, read, sleep) and abstract nouns (statement, love, knowledge).
Contact hana [dot] filip [at-sign] gmail [dot] com to get more information about the project