Indeterminacy of Quantificational Meanings of Bare Plural NPs
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The quantificational meanings and distribution of bare plural NPs have been dealt with principally in the frameworks of formal syntax and semantics. In this paper we will propose a pragmatic analysis of bare plurals and other generic NPs within the framework of Relevance Theory. We assume that bare plural NPs and other generic NPs are indeterminate with respect to their meanings and thus underdetermined at a semantic level of representation. Then the relevance theoretic notion of enrichment will apply to the underdetermined semantic representation of the NPs at issue and resolve the indeterminacy without complication the grammar. We will also note that there is a scale of quantification involving genericity. In this way, genericity will be interpreted as a phenomenon that requires a pragmatic account instead of semantic rules like Existential Closure.
Abstract
The quantificational meanings and distribution of bare plural NPs have been dealt with principally in the frameworks of formal syntax and semantics. In this paper we will propose a pragmatic analysis of bare plurals and other generic NPs within the framework of Relevance Theory. We assume that bare plural NPs and other generic NPs are indeterminate with respect to their meanings and thus underdetermined at a semantic level of representation. Then the relevance theoretic notion of enrichment will apply to the underdetermined semantic representation of the NPs at issue and resolve the indeterminacy without complication the grammar. We will also note that there is a scale of quantification involving genericity. In this way, genericity will be interpreted as a phenomenon that requires a pragmatic account instead of semantic rules like Existential Closure.