Bare singular names and genericity

Abstract Predicativists hold that proper names are count nouns with a predicative meaning, and treat bare singular names as predicative DPs headed by an unpronounced definite. However, bare singular names exhibit differences in grammatical behavior from ordinary definite singulars. One difference, it has been argued, is that while ordinary definite singulars can be interpreted generically, bare singular names cannot. This is not right: bare singular names can have generic uses. I present the evidence and offer an argument that generics with bare singular names are good news for predicativists.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Semantics
Published
2024-11-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/jos/ffae017
Primary Topic
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Bare singular names and genericity

Luca Gasparri
Journal of Semantics
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
article

Bare singular names and genericity

Luca Gasparri
article en

Abstract

Abstract Predicativists hold that proper names are count nouns with a predicative meaning, and treat bare singular names as predicative DPs headed by an unpronounced definite. However, bare singular names exhibit differences in grammatical behavior from ordinary definite singulars. One difference, it has been argued, is that while ordinary definite singulars can be interpreted generically, bare singular names cannot. This is not right: bare singular names can have generic uses. I present the evidence and offer an argument that generics with bare singular names are good news for predicativists.

Journal of SemanticsVol. 42(1-2)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Savoirs, Textes, Langage (FR)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 65%
Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
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