FFF

A1 - Types of nouns and determination across languages

The project investigates the cross-linguistic morphological and syntactic repercussions of two conceptual dimensions, which cross-classify nouns into sortal concepts (SC), relational concepts (RC), individual concepts (IC), and functional concepts (FC): the latter two refer inherently unambiguously, unlike the former two; SCs and ICs do not involve an additional argument to be specified, whereas owing to their relationality RCs and FCs do. The major object of research is the typological variation in the realization of the arguments of RCs and FCs, as well as the consequences of the inherent uniqueness of ICs and FCs. 

A second perspective results from the intimate relation between these types of nouns and corresponding types of determination: indefinite, definite and possessive determination. For example, definite determination produces NPs that refer uniquely, indefinite determination yields NPs of non-unique reference, and possessive determination leads to NPs referring in relation to an additional argument. The project investigates the grammar and compositionality of the combinations of nouns of a certain concept type with determinations of a certain
type from a cross-linguistic point of view.