A new metalinguistic degree morpheme  

Oleh:

Bochnak, M. Ryan ; Csipak, Eva

Jenis: Article from Proceeding
Dalam koleksi: Proceedings of the 24th Semantics and Linguistic Theory Conference, held at New York University, May 30th - June 1st, 2014, page 432-452.
Topik: ish/-ish; metalinguistic degree morphology; imprecision; hedges
Fulltext: 25. 2450-2631-1-PB.pdf (228.2KB)

Isi artikel

In this paper, we discuss and analyze : : : ish/-ish in three of its uses: as a modifier of gradable adjectives; as a clause-final particle that hedges on a speaker’s degree of commitment to a proposition; and as a general precision-regulator. In each case, : : : ish/-ish makes reference to a degree that is slightly less than the standard for the constituent it applies to. We propose that proposition-modifying : : : ish belongs to the class of metalinguistic degree morphology alongside metalinguistic comparisons, which have received recent attention in the literature (e.g., Giannakidou & Yoon 2011; Morzycki 2011). We argue for a unified analysis of : : : ish/-ish as a degree modifier, where the relevant degree variable can be provided lexically, or through a type-shifting operation that makes available a degree of precision in the sense of Morzycki (2011). This study has implications for research on the semantics of metalinguistic degree morphology, imprecision, speaker-oriented phenomena, and the role of subjectification in semantic change.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali