Bare predication

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Bare predication
Bert Le Bruyn
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I am linguist.
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Importance
Widespread assumption
Articles are markers of argumenthood.
Why cant we do without in predicate position ???
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Dutch/ French/ Norwegian/
Sometimes with indefinite article
Sometimes without indefinite article
? might help us to get a better understanding of
why the indefinite article appears
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• Organization of the talk
• The facts
• What an analysis should look like
• Previous analyses
• My analysis
• Theoretical implications

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• The facts
• What an analysis should look like
• Previous analyses
• My analysis
• Theoretical implications

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Standard observations
one set of nouns usually doesnt take the
indefinite article
capacity nouns
Professions
Religions
Nationalities
teacher dictator
jew christian
Belgian American
ex. Hitler was dictator. H was dictator
another set of nouns usually takes the indefinite
article
non-capacity nouns
The rest
ex. White Fang is a wolf. WF is a wolf
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Advanced observations
MARKED USES
capacity nouns can occur with the indefinite
article
Marie is een dictator. M is a dictator
Mary has characteristics that we associate with
dictators
non-capacity nouns can occur without the
indefinite article
Ik ben wolf. I am wolve
I play the part of wolve
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CAPACITY NOUNS
NON-CAPACITY NOUNS
NO INDEFINITE ART
Ik ben wolf. I am wolve
Hitler was dictator. Hitler was dictator
INDEFINITE ART
White Fang is a wolf. WF is a wolf
Marie is een dictator. Marie is a dictator
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• The facts
• What an analysis should look like
• Previous analyses
• My analysis
• Theoretical implications

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The ideal analysis
Non-capacity nouns are lexically marked.
Non-capacity nouns need the indefinite article
SETUP
and undergo some coercion in its absence.
Capacity nouns dont need the indefinite article
and undergo some coercion in its presence.
The coercions are linked to some contribution of
the indefinite article.
MEANING
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• The facts
• What an analysis should look like
• Previous analyses
• My analysis
• Theoretical implications

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Previous analyses
Matushansky Spector (2005)
Non-capacity nouns have a scalarity argument slot.
The scalarity argument slot has to be saturated.
Syntactic marking of saturation article.
This entails that the indefinite article
contributes no meaning, but is only a reflex of
a syntactic operation
This might account for
The existence of two types of nouns.
SET-UP IS WRONG
Coercion of non-capacity nouns.
This cannot account for
Coercion of capacity nouns.
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Beyssade Dobrovie-Sorin (2007)
Two kinds of predicates.
sortal and non-sortal
property-like
set-like
lexical feature that forces them to take the
indefinite article
SEMANTICS IS UNDERDEFINED
Problem nothing inherent to the set and property
view on predicates predicts the meaning
differences.
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• The facts
• What an analysis should look like
• Previous analyses
• My analysis

• General idea the indefinite article is a marker
• of kind-membership predication
• -Background on kinds
• Background on articles
• Why kind-membership predication has to go
• with the indefinite article
• The analysis

-Theoretical implications
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• Background on kinds
• Background on articles
• Why kind-membership predication has to go with
  the indefinite article
• The analysis

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Kinds first attempt
If at least two individuals show the same
non-accidental behaviour they qualify as a kind
in a given world.
Non-accidental behaviour
giraffes
the giraffes that come and eat here every day
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At least two
Very intuitive idea.
I made an electrogalvanic-powered diaper wetness
sensor. Dodos are extinct.
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Kinds second attempt
Kinds are sets of at least two individuals
showing the same behaviour in all worlds in which
they exist (past, present and future).
The at least two criterion is maintained but the
diaper sensor and dodo case are no longer
problematic
Other diaper sensors may follow.
There have been many dodos and they might
resurface.
The non-accidental criterion is maintained
Once they exist individuals belonging to a kind
must behave in the same way across worlds.
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Kinds recap
Kinds are sets of at least two individuals
showing the same behaviour in all worlds (past,
present and future) in which they exist.
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• Background on kinds
• Background on articles
• Why kind-membership predication has to go with
  the indefinite article
• The analysis

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Articles
Marking argumenthood
In languages that have articles they are
obligatory in argument position.
I have cat.
Man came to see me.
Marking uniqueness
In languages that distinguish between a definite
and an indefinite article the definite article
(in the singular) is marked for uniqueness
whereas the indefinite article is unmarked.
I saw the teacher.
I saw a teacher.
Absence of articles
Only possible in predicate position.
Absence of articles unmarked for uniqueness
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Indefinite vs. bare
both constructions are unmarked for uniqueness
both pragmatically imply non-uniqueness
wherever both are possible the construction with
the indefinite article marks non-uniqueness
(marked form linked to marked meaning)
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Use of articles
Constraint I Mark uniqueness.
In argument position
Constraint II Use articles.
In predicate position
Constraint III Dont use articles...
unless the predication is sensitive to the
uniqueness non-uniqueness distinction
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• Background on kinds
• Background on articles
• Why kind-membership predication goes with the
  indefinite article
• The analysis

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Kinds and the indefinite article
Kinds are sets of at least two elements.
Kind-membership predication is sensitive to the
uniqueness / non-uniqueness contrast.
Bare predication is unmarked for uniqueness /
non-uniqueness.
bare predication
indefinite article
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• Background on kinds
• Background on articles
• Why kind-membership predication has to go with
  the indefinite article
• The analysis

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Analysis the gist
Two kinds of nouns
kind non-kind
indefinite article
- indefinite article
ex.
ex.
White Fang is een wolf.
Jan is dictator.
WF is a wolf
J is dictator
How to check this ?
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• teacher
• plumber
• jew
• catholic
• American

• wolf
• dog
• sock
• building
• lamp

indefinite article
- indefinite article
Non-accidental
Accidental
Constraint on kinds!
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Analysis the details
Lexicon
Nouns with a KIND feature
needs checking
Nouns without a KIND feature
KIND feature can only be checked by a UNIQUE
determiner.
indefinite singular article in predicate
position
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If the kind feature is not checked
when there is no UNIQUE determiner available
(in argument position)
? restriction of the kind to contextually
relevant instances
despite the availability of a UNIQUE determiner
(in predicate position)
? coercion into a non-kind noun
non-accidental ? accidental
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Use of indefinite article in predicate position
with non-kind nouns
? coercion into a kind noun
accidental ? non-accidental
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The ideal analysis
Non-capacity nouns are lexically marked.
Non-capacity nouns need the indefinite article
SETUP
and undergo some coercion in its absence.
Capacity nouns dont need the indefinite article
and undergo some coercion in its presence.
The coercions are linked to some contribution of
the indefinite article.
MEANING
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• Organization of the talk
• The facts
• What an analysis should look like
• Previous analyses
• My analysis
• Theoretical implications

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Theoretical implications
languages that allow for both bare and non-bare
predicates (e.g. Dutch)
choice depends on uniqueness considerations that
are independent from marking argumenthood
languages that dont allow their articles to
appear in predicate position (e.g. Salish)
languages that (virtually) dont allow predicates
to appear without articles (e.g. English)
some syntactic accident
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