Cross-categorial gradability in Logoori

Quantification in Logoori

In this paper I examine how quantification is expressed in Logoori, a Luyia (Bantu) language spoken in western Kenya. I focus on the two universal quantifiers in Logoori, viz., vuri ‘every’ and -oosi ‘all’. I show that these two quantifiers display a number of syntactic and semantic differences and present a compositional analysis to account for those differences. Throughout, I discuss how the ...

Gradability without Degrees

Cross-Categorial Restrictions on Measure Phrase Modification

Spatial and temporal Measure Phrases (MPs) such as ten meters, five years etc. appear with various linguistic items, including locative prepositions, scalar dimensional adjectives and comparatives, and show certain systematic contrasts in these domains. Some examples are given below. (1) a. Prepositions: ten meters behind/outside/*near/*on the house b. Adjectives: ten meters wide/*narrow/deep/*...

Dutchmen are Good Sailors: Generics and Gradability∗

Many generics have quite strong interpretations. Ravens are black is naturally paraphrased as all normal ravens are black.. However, there is a sundry collection of weak generics, ones that can be true even though most members of the kind at issue do not conform to them, including Dutchmen are good sailors and lions have manes. This paper presents a new semantic theory for generics on which the...

Categorial and Non-Categorial Languages

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