Parts of a Whole: Distributivity as a Bridge Between Aspect and Measurement
AUTHOR | Champollion, Lucas |
PUBLISHER | Oxford University Press (UK) (05/23/2017) |
PRODUCT TYPE | Hardcover (Hardcover) |
Description
This book uses mathematical models of language to explain why there are certain gaps in language: things that we might expect to be able to say but can't. For instance, why can we say I ran for five minutes but not *I ran all the way to the store for five minutes? Why is five pounds of books acceptable, but *five pounds of book not acceptable? What prevents us from saying *sixty degrees of water to express the temperature of the water in a swimming pool when sixty inches of water can express its depth? And why can we not say *all the ants in my kitchen are numerous? The constraints on these constructions involve concepts that are generally studied separately: aspect, plural and mass reference, measurement, and distributivity. In this book, Lucas Champollion provides a unified perspective on these domains, connects them formally within the framework of algebraic semantics and mereology, and uses this connection to transfer insights across unrelated bodies of literature and formulate a single constraint that explains each of the judgments above.
Show More
Product Format
Product Details
ISBN-13:
9780198755128
ISBN-10:
0198755120
Binding:
Hardback or Cased Book (Sewn)
Content Language:
English
More Product Details
Page Count:
352
Carton Quantity:
22
Product Dimensions:
5.90 x 0.90 x 9.20 inches
Weight:
1.40 pound(s)
Feature Codes:
Bibliography,
Index,
Illustrated
Country of Origin:
GB
Subject Information
BISAC Categories
Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Semantics
Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Pragmatics
Dewey Decimal:
401.430
Library of Congress Control Number:
2016953469
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
publisher marketing
This book uses mathematical models of language to explain why there are certain gaps in language: things that we might expect to be able to say but can't. For instance, why can we say I ran for five minutes but not *I ran all the way to the store for five minutes? Why is five pounds of books acceptable, but *five pounds of book not acceptable? What prevents us from saying *sixty degrees of water to express the temperature of the water in a swimming pool when sixty inches of water can express its depth? And why can we not say *all the ants in my kitchen are numerous? The constraints on these constructions involve concepts that are generally studied separately: aspect, plural and mass reference, measurement, and distributivity. In this book, Lucas Champollion provides a unified perspective on these domains, connects them formally within the framework of algebraic semantics and mereology, and uses this connection to transfer insights across unrelated bodies of literature and formulate a single constraint that explains each of the judgments above.
Show More
List Price $145.00
Your Price
$143.55