Chapter 1
Introduction
Why study semantic plurality and pluralities of entities?
Article outline
- 1.1What is a plurality of entities?
- 1.1.1‘Plurality’ compared with aggregate and set
- 1.1.2Do collective nouns denote pluralities?: The concept of internal plurality
- 1.1.3Do plural NPs denote pluralities?: The singularist approach
- 1.1.4List of linguistic means available to denote pluralities of
entities
- 1.2Advantages of a semantic /plurality/ feature over the /number/
feature
- 1.3Why take collective nouns as a starting point?
- 1.3.1Collective nouns as the problematic backbone of references to
pluralities
- 1.3.2A long tradition of deceptively simple descriptions in grammars and
dictionaries
- 1.3.3A number of unsolved issues in recent studies
- 1.3.4Leading questions for this volume
- 1.4A preliminary list of pre-requisites for collective nouns
- 1.4.1A relation between units and a collective whole
- 1.4.2A plurality resulting from a grouping operation
- 1.4.3A specific type of part/whole relation
- 1.4.3.1Unprototypical meronymy
- 1.4.3.2Collective wholes distinguished from particulate masses
- 1.4.3.3Meronymy distinguished from taxonomy, despite the shared notion
of members
- 1.4.4A /plurality/ feature at lexical level – from whole sense to facet of
meaning
- 1.5Outline of the book
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Notes