Universal #1203
Legacy number: 1203
| Number | 1199 |
| Original | Every natural language has syntactic constituents (called noun-phrases) whose semantic function is to express generalized quantifiers over the domain of discourse. |
| Standardized | Every natural language has syntactic constituents (called noun-phrases) whose semantic function is to express generalized quantifiers over the domain of discourse. |
| Keywords | quantification, generalized quantifier, NP |
| Domain | syntax, semantics |
| Type | unconditional |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | unspecified |
| Source | Barwise & Cooper 1981: 177, U1 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
All the following lack NP quantification: Straits (Salish), Asurini (Tupi), Mohawk (Iroquoian), Lakhota (Siouan), Navajo (Athabaskan), Warlpiri (Pama-Nyungan), Gun-djeyhmi (Gunwingguan, Australian). Warlpiri and Gun-djeyhmi, for example, make use of verbal affixes to express various kinds of quantificational meaning. Asurini quantifiers such as all, many, two do not form a syntactic constituent with the noun because they do not belong to the category of determiners. They are members of other categories such as adverb, verb and noun instead. See discussion in Bach et al. (1995).
Notes
According to Barwise & Cooper, it would “probably be wrong to claim that NPs are the only quantifiers in natural language. [...] It does seem reasonable, however, to claim that the noun-phrases of a language are all and only the quantifiers over the domain of discourse [...].”However, the universality of an NP constituent is dubious, pace Barwise & Cooper, for whom NPs typically host proper names and expressions accompanied by determiners such as ‘every’, ‘most’, ‘one’. See further Bach et al. (1995).
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However, the universality of an NP constituent is dubious, pace Barwise & Cooper, for whom NPs typically host proper names and expressions accompanied by determiners such as 'every', 'most', 'one'. See further Bach et al.1995.