Declustering aggregates : A semantic analysis of Ukrainian singulatives
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Singulatives are derived unit nouns, i.e., expressions designating a singular object individuated from a plurality perceived as a homogeneous collection of entities. Singulative derivational morphology is attested cross-linguistically, e.g., in Celtic, Semitic, Cushitic, Nilo-Saharan, Algonquian and Slavic, and it is puzzling since it seems to reverse the markedness of the singular/plural distinction (Wierzbicka 1988, Gil 1996, Corbett 2000, Dimmendaal 2000, Mathieu 2014, Acquaviva 2015, Dali & Mathieu 2021, de Vries 2021, Wągiel 2021, Kagan & Nurmio to appear, Kagan et al. to appear). Though recent research revealed the theoretical relevance of various types of singulative formations, certain aspects of their meaning are still not well understood. In this paper, we will examine Ukrainian word formations such as hrad `hail' ~ hrad-yna `a hailstone' and propose a mereotopological analysis on which the singulative morpheme is an atomizer that selects for an aggregate predicate, i.e., a property of entities prototypically conceptualized as clusters, and turns it into a predicate of discrete singular integrated wholes. |
| Related projects: |