References

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as

‘adjectives’

Luiz Guilherme Guidi

February 10, 2011

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

References

Outline

Nouns typically are accompanied by articles, demonstratives,

possessives, etc
I John likes his dog/a dog/the dog/those dogs
But they can also appear ‘bare’ (i.e. without a determiner)
I John likes dogs
I Dogs like John
Noun are normally taken to be an argument selected by the verb
i.e. subject or object
Proposal: bare nouns in Brazilian Portuguese are not arguments of
verbs but rather modifiers, similar to adjectives;

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Typological variation
Languages differ with respect to the distribution and meaning of
bare nouns
English: Plurals only
I *Dog loves John
I Dogs love John
Italian: Not allowed
I *Cane ama John (singular)
I *Cani amano John (plural)
I I cani amano John
Chinese: (Nearly) always bare; no singular/plural distinction
I Gou xihuan John (singular/plural)
Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’
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Account
Chierchia (1998)
Across languages, grammatical category N can be encoded as
semantic type [argument] or [predicate]
I English and Chinese Ns are [argument]: can combine directly
with the verb
Ns denote natural kinds
I Italian Ns are [predicate]: need ‘support’ to combine become
[argument] and combine with verb e.g. articles
Ns denote properties
Assumption:
I Only semantically [argument] elements can be selected by a
verb to be its subject or object

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Names of kinds
Ns that are semantically [argument] refer directly to natural
‘kinds’:
I Natural kinds are concepts representing the generic
instantiation of an entity
I Each property may have a corresponding kind if it occurs
regularly in the world
I It contrasts with an individual instance of a kind or plural
instances of it
I e.g. dogs vs. a/the dog vs. many/two dogs
I Languages where Ns are [predicate], do not have direct
‘access’ to kind–reference
Test for kind reference; kind–level predicate e.g. to be extinct
I English: Dogs are extinct
I Chinese: Gou juezhong le
I Italian: *Cani sono estinti / I cani sono estinti
Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’
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Names of kinds

Prasada et al. (2008): N400 and semantic integration

I Greater negativity in N400 when a word is interpreted as
referring to a kind than when referring to an instance of a
kind i.e. generic or non-generic
I Bananas are yellow vs. This banana is yellow

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese (BrPt): bare nouns are allowed in both
singular and plural form:

(1) Criança gosta de ler gibi

(singular) Child like to read comic-book
“Children like to read comic books”

(2) Crianças gostam de ler gibis

(plural) Children like to read comic-books
“Children like to read comic books”

Differ from Chinese because it has plural morphology (–s)

Bare nouns are allowed ; [pred]
Are bare nouns in BrPt type [argument]? Do they refer to kinds?

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Names of kinds in BrPt?

Bare plural nouns in BrPt do combine with kind-level predicates

(3) Elefantes estão extintos.

Elephants are extinct
“Elephants are extinct”

But bare singular nouns do not

(4) *Elefante está extinto.

Elephant is extinct
“Elephants are extinct”

N ; names of kinds, [argument]

Why can bare plurals can refer to names of kinds?

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Issues

If they are not [argument], they must be [predicate]

I How can they appear bare? Type [predicate] Ns need
‘support’ to be selected by a verb
Proposal:
I Ns in Brazilian Portuguese are not selected by the verb directly
I They combine with it in another way.

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Incorporation
In some languages, nouns can be integrated with the verb to form
one meaningful unit

(5) o-ı̂-pysyk ı̂y

3sg.Subj-3sg.Obj-grab axe

(6) o-ı̂y-pysyk
3sg.Subj-3sg.Obj-axe-grab
‘He grabbed an axe’ or ‘He axe-grabbed’

(Tupinambá, dos Santos Gomes, 1999, 28)

English:
I John drives trucks
I John is a truck-driver
Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’
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Incorporation

Incorporation:
I Incorporated nominals are morphologically reduced i.e. bare
I The verb ‘loses’ the object slot
I The incorporated nominal ‘restricts’ the meaning of the verb
e.g. to grab → ‘to axe-grab’
I Similar to an adjective modifying a noun e.g. axe → blue axe

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Incorporation at work

(7) Gäi-[kareta] si Antonio.

AGR.have-car Unm Antonio
“Antonio has a car”

a. [[have]] = λyλxλe[have(y)(x)(e)] (type <e<et>>)

b. [[car]] = car(y) (type <et>)
c. [[Antonio]] = a (type e)
d. [[have-car]] = λyλxλe[have(y)(x)(e) ∧ car(y)] (type <e<et>>)
e. [[Antonio have-car]] = ∃e∃y [have(y)(a)(e) ∧ car(y)] (type t)

(Chamorro, Chung and Ladusaw, 2004, 107-108)

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Incorporation

Incorporated nouns have the following properties

I Forms a structural unit with the verb
I Non-definite
I Non-specific
I Scopally inert
I Number neutral
I Discourse transparency
I Structurally restricted
I Typicality

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Incorporation

Bare singulars in Brazilian Portuguese have all these properties

I Forms a structural unit with the verb
I Non-definite
I Non-specific
I Scopally inert
I Number neutral
I Discourse transparency
I Structurally restricted
I Typicality

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Structural unity

Incorporated nouns are often seen ‘inside’ the verb

This is not the case in BrPt but bare singulars cannot be separated
from the verb

(8) O computador, eu vou comprar.

The computer, I will buy
“The computer, I will buy”

(9) *Computador, eu vou comprar.

*Computer, I will buy
“*Computers, I will buy”

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Number neutrality

Bare singular can be used to refer to one instance of the noun or

more:

(10) Tinha jogador fingindo estar lesionado pra não jogar

Exist player faking to-be injured to not play
“There were players faking to be injured to avoid playing”

(11) Mas ele/eles não se livrou/livraram do

But he/they not Refl-3sg got-away with-the
treino
training-session
“But they didn’t get away with having to train”

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Typicality
Incorporation is only possible if the noun–verb complex refers to:

“Some entity, quality or activity [that] is recognised

sufficiently often to be considered nameworthy...”
(Mithun, 1984, 848)

Bare singulars in BrPt also have this restriction:

(12) O Lula comprou carro / bicicleta / casa

The Lula bought car / bicycle / house
“Lula bought cars / bicycles / houses”

(13) O Lula comprou *mansão / *castelo / #jegue

The Lula bought *mansion / *castle / #donkey
“Lula bought *mansions / *castles / #donkeys”

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Conclusion

Ns in Brazilian Portuguese are

I Are not selected by the verb as subject/object but are
‘incorporated’ into it
I Ns are properties that restrict and modify the meaning of the
verb
I Semantic type [predicate]
N in Italian are type [predicate]
I But they cannot appear bare ; they do not incorporate

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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Implications

How can bare plurals refer to names of kinds and appear to be

type [argument]?
I They are like English bare plurals i.e. [argument]
Bare plurals encode number feature
I Number feature can serve as ‘support’ ?
I N[predicate] + Number ⇒ NumberN [argument]
I ⇒ English is type [predicate]?
I Chinese is true type [argument]

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’

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References

Chierchia, Gennaro. 1998. Reference to kinds across languages.

Natural Language Semantics 6:339–405.
Chung, Sandra, and William A. Ladusaw. 2004. Restriction and
saturation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Mithun, M. 1984. The evolution of noun incorporation. Language
60:847–895.
Prasada, S., A. Salajegheh, A. Bowles, and D. Poeppel. 2008.
Characterising kinds and instances of kinds: ERP reflections.
Language and Cognitive Processes 23:226–240.
dos Santos Gomes, Nataniel. 1999. Algumas observações sobre a
lı́ngua Tupinambá. Revista Phillologus 5:25–39.

Bare singular nouns in Brazilian Portuguese as ‘adjectives’