Open Access
Adjectives and boundedness
Carita Paradis
- 01 Jan 1999
157
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the significance of the schematic domain of boundedness in adjectives and show that the configuration of adjectives in terms of boundaries may dominate their interpretation at the expense of the content proper, and adjectives become more like function words than content words.
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Abstract: This paper examines the significance of the schematic domain of BOUNDEDNESS in adjectives. It is proposed that boundedness in adjectives is a fundamental characteristic associated with gradability. Cross-categorial correspondences are made to nouns and verbs, where boundedness is a feature of countability and aktionsart respectively. Two basic types of gradable adjectives are distinguished: those which are associated with a boundary and those which are not. It is also shown that it is possible to change the configuration of adjectives in terms of boundedness through contextual modulation. Finally, it is demonstrated that the configuration of adjectives in terms of boundaries may dominate their interpretation at the expense of the content proper, and the adjectives become more like function words than content words. (Less)
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Citations
Vagueness and grammar: the semantics of relative and absolute gradable adjectives
TL;DR: The authors investigated the way that linguistic expressions influence vagueness, focusing on the interpretation of the positive (unmarked) form of gradable adjectives, and showed that the difference between relative and absolute adjectives in the positive form stems from the interaction of lexical semantic properties.
Configurations, construals and change: Expressions of DEGREE
TL;DR: This paper argued that DEGREE is pervasive in language and may be associated with most meanings, and proposed a general and dynamic model of Lexical Meaning as Ontologies and Construals (LOC).
The concepts of constructional mismatch and type-shifting from the perspective of grammaticalization
TL;DR: In a follow-up work as mentioned in this paper, the same authors address the question "what conditions favor the diachronic development of shift constructions" from the perspective of grammaticalization, with particular reference to the development of partitive constructions like a bit of apple into degree modifiers like a hypocrite.
136
Telic senses of deadjectival verbs
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the nature of the telos associated with a deadjectival verb on a telic interpretation, and show that the telic sense of a verb can be interpreted with respect to a closed or open property scale.
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On the subjectivity of intensifiers
TL;DR: In this paper, the semantic development of particular intensifiers following Langacker's framework of subjectivity is discussed, where the focus lies on the way the conceptualizer construes an event or a situation as an observer or as an experiencer with degrees of control over it.
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Scale Structure, Degree Modification, and the Semantics of Gradable Predicates
TL;DR: The authors developed a semantic typology of gradable predicates, with special emphasis/non deverbal adjectives, and argued for the linguistic relevance of this typology by demonstrating/n that the distribution and interpretation of degree modifiers is sensitive to its two major classificatory/nparameters: (1) whether a gradable predicate is associated with what we call an open or closed/nscale, and (2) whether the standard of comparison for the applicability of the predicate is absolute/nor relative to a context.
Vagueness and grammar: the semantics of relative and absolute gradable adjectives
TL;DR: The authors investigated the way that linguistic expressions influence vagueness, focusing on the interpretation of the positive (unmarked) form of gradable adjectives, and showed that the difference between relative and absolute adjectives in the positive form stems from the interaction of lexical semantic properties.