A Semantics for Groups and Events
Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Grammar, Linguistics
| Author: | Peter Lasersohn | ISBN: | 9781315533919 |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis | Publication: | November 25, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Routledge | Language: | English |
| Author: | Peter Lasersohn |
| ISBN: | 9781315533919 |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis |
| Publication: | November 25, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Routledge |
| Language: | English |
First published in 1990, this dissertation presents an event-based model-theoretic semantics for plural expressions in English. The author defends against counterarguments the hypothesis that distributive predicates are predicates of groups, and not just individuals. By defining the collective/distributive distinction in terms of event structure, he solves formal problems with previous group-level analyses. The author notes that certain adverbials have a systematic ambiguity between a reading indicating collective action, and readings indicating spatial or temporal proximity; the event-based definition of collective action makes possible a parallel treatment of these readings. This book presents a formal proposal on the algebraic structure of groups and events, and a semantically based analysis of number agreement.
First published in 1990, this dissertation presents an event-based model-theoretic semantics for plural expressions in English. The author defends against counterarguments the hypothesis that distributive predicates are predicates of groups, and not just individuals. By defining the collective/distributive distinction in terms of event structure, he solves formal problems with previous group-level analyses. The author notes that certain adverbials have a systematic ambiguity between a reading indicating collective action, and readings indicating spatial or temporal proximity; the event-based definition of collective action makes possible a parallel treatment of these readings. This book presents a formal proposal on the algebraic structure of groups and events, and a semantically based analysis of number agreement.
