7/25/2019 2016.5.23. Colloquium Abstract

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/2016523-colloquium-abstract 1/1

The nominal onion and how to make your way

from within to the surface

Sebastian Lobner(University of Dusseldorf)

The talk presents a comprehensive general model of the functional-semantic structure of the NP

(or RP, in RRG terms), as organized in   functional layers. It is restricted to non-generic argument

NPs and does not include functions that deal with the relation of an NP to its sentential or discourse

context, such as case and agreement marking, or marking of the information-structural status. The

model of functional layers is similar to, but more detailed and comprehensive than those proposed in

Rijkhoff (2002) and Van Valin (2008). Its relationship to syntax will not be discussed.

Starting from the lexical noun NUCLEUS, the model distinguishes a hierarchy of seven functional

layers:

(1)   Relation  – possession, (de)relationalization(2)   Quality   – qualitative modification (by adjectives, relative clauses, etc.)

(3)   Unit – formation of countable units and of sum referents (plural, numerical classifiers)

(4)   Quantity – quantity specification

(5)   Order – elements that locate the referent in an ordering: ordinals, superlatives, next, etc.

(6)   Definiteness  – indefinites, definites, adnominal demonstratives, and adnominal posses-

sives

(7)   Quantification  proper – partitives and genuine quantifiers such as ‘every‘.

NP-internal operations are related to these functional layers and ordered relative to each other. The

result is a flow diagram that integrates all major operations. The flow diagram also displays whether

the operations are optional or necessary, and whether they can be covert or not.

Following and extending the approach to determination taken in Lobner (2011), the model distin-

guishes lexical nouns in terms of three binary   conceptual features: relationality, inherent uniquen-

ess, and countability. These features propagate from the nucleus level to the NP level. They may be

subject to change when certain operations cause a corresponding conceptual shift. The model reflects

the way in which the operations affect the three features. Thus the resulting features of the NP can

be derived from those of the nucleus and from the operations applied.

References

Lobner, S. (2011). Concept types and determination.   Journal of Semantics  28: 279-333.

Lobner, S. (2015). The semantics of nominals. In N. Riemer (ed.),  The Routledge Handbook of Seman-

tics . 293-302.

Rijkhoff, J. (2002).   The Noun Phrase , Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Van Valin, R. (2008). RPs and the nature of lexical and syntactic categories in Role and Reference

Grammar. in R. Van Valin (ed.),  Investigations of the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface ,

Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 161–178.

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