Abstract
Words for numbers, numerals, are a special lexical
class, halfway between natural and mathematical language. One would expect them to have a relatively
straightforward semantics. However, during the last
several decades, numerals proved to be a rich source of
debate in linguistics, especially in semantics and pragmatics. The reason is that the study of numerals
requires taking into account core issues such as plurality, quantification, implicature/exhaustivity, degree,
modality, imprecision and cross-linguistic variation. In
this article, we provide a thorough introduction to the
issues connected to numeral semantics and pragmatics.
We gradually develop analyses of meanings of
numerals in natural language using a multitude of analytical tools. We evaluate the competing proposals in
terms of empirical coverage and predictions.
class, halfway between natural and mathematical language. One would expect them to have a relatively
straightforward semantics. However, during the last
several decades, numerals proved to be a rich source of
debate in linguistics, especially in semantics and pragmatics. The reason is that the study of numerals
requires taking into account core issues such as plurality, quantification, implicature/exhaustivity, degree,
modality, imprecision and cross-linguistic variation. In
this article, we provide a thorough introduction to the
issues connected to numeral semantics and pragmatics.
We gradually develop analyses of meanings of
numerals in natural language using a multitude of analytical tools. We evaluate the competing proposals in
terms of empirical coverage and predictions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Language & Linguistics Compass |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2020 |