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http://hdl.handle.net/1956/2586
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| Title: | Pseudopartitives in Norwegian |
| Authors: | Kinn, Torodd |
| Keywords: | quantifier
numeral
preposition
metaphor
iconicity
grammaticalization |
| Issue Date: | 14-Dec-2001 |
| Publisher: | The University of Bergen |
| Abstract: | The dissertation investigates Norwegian pseudopartitive constructions like 'a cup of tea', 'three
kilometres of road', and 'thousands of students'. A quantifying noun or denominal quantifier in
-vis denotes a quantity, and a substance noun denotes something which has that quantity. The
parts of the nominal may be juxtaposed or linked with either of the prepositions 'with' and 'of'.
Chapters 1 to 3 are an introduction and sketches of central theoretical notions and of
Norwegian nominals. Chapter 4 is a detailed analysis of the Norwegian numeral system, with
a focus on additive and multiplicative constructions. Chapter 5 contains a taxonomy of
quantifying nouns and a section arguing for the recognition of a class of denominal quantifiers
in -vis.
Chapter 6 discusses the first main question: What determines whether juxtaposition, 'with', or
'of' is used? Corpora of newspaper texts and novels provide a foundation for the discussion. It
is argued that there is an iconic relation between presence and absence of a preposition.
Absence (juxtaposition) corresponds to conceptual unity. Presence of a preposition
corresponds to a higher degree of conceptual distance. The choice between 'with' and 'of' is
shown to be based on competing metaphors of quantity: of accompaniment, containment, and
material constitution, respectively.
Chapter 7 discusses the second main question: Which constituent is the head of the phrase --
the quantifying noun / quantifier in -vis or the substance noun? Many pseudopartitives are
ambiguous, which is argued to depend on a choice of profile. There has partly been a
diachronic development of reanalysis and grammaticalization, which implies a profile shift in
the direction of the substance.
Chapter 8 concludes the dissertation. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1956/2586 |
| ISBN: | 82-497-0051-1 (print version) |
| Appears in Collections: | Section for Linguistics
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