Degree words and scalar structure in Japanese

Tsujimura, Natsuko

doi:10.1016/s0024-3841(00)00027-9

Cited by 18 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Bolinger's second important observation, which echoes an earlier point made by Sapir (1944), is the obvious but mostly neglected fact that gradability is a property not just of adjectives, but of nouns, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions as well (though see Doetjes 1997;Kennedy and McNally 1999;Hay, Kennedy, and Levin 1999;Tsujimura 2001;Vanden Wyngaerd 2001;Paradis 2001;Wechsler 2002 for examples of recent work exploring these connections). Given the fact that the adjectival expressions we are interested in here are derived from (or related to) verbs, we should ask whether there is some regular correspondence between aspects of verb meaning and aspects of adjective meaning.…”

Section: Degree Modification In Deverbal Gradable Adjectivesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Scale Structure, Degree Modification, and the Semantics of Gradable Predicates

Kennedy¹,

McNally²

2005

lan

913

825

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In this paper we develop a semantic typology of gradable predicates, with special emphasis on deverbal adjectives. We argue for the linguistic relevance of this typology by demonstrating that the distribution and interpretation of degree modifiers is sensitive to its two major classificatory parameters: (1) whether a gradable predicate is associated with what we call an OPEN or CLOSED scale and (2) whether the standard of comparison for the applicability of the predicate is ABSOLUTE or RELATIVE to a context. We further show that the classification of an important subclass of adjectives within the typology is largely predictable. Specifically, the scale structure of a deverbal gradable adjective correlates either with the algebraic part structure of the event denoted by its source verb or with the part structure of the entities to which the adjective applies. These correlations underscore the fact that gradability is characteristic not only of adjectives but also of verbs and nouns, and that scalar properties are shared by categorially distinct but derivationally-related expressions. * Bolinger's (1972) classic study of degree expressions in English, two stand out. First, degree modifiers in English have distributions which cannot be given a purely syntactic explanation. Consider, for example, the behavior of well, much and very. At a superficial level, these three modifiers appear to have very similar syntactic and semantic properties: they all apply to deverbal gradable adjectives, and they all 'boost' the degree to which the deverbal adjective holds of its subject. In (1), for example, the addition of the degree modifiers increases the degree to which the properties are claimed to hold of their respective subjects in roughly the same way. * We are grateful to DEGREE MODIFICATION IN DEVERBAL GRADABLE ADJECTIVES Among the many observations made in

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Section: Degree Modification In Deverbal Gradable Adjectivesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Scale Structure, Degree Modification, and the Semantics of Gradable Predicates

Kennedy¹,

McNally²

2005

lan

913

825

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“…First, in accord with Tsujimura's (2001) observation of non-mimetic verbs, degree intensification is available to totemo 'very' that cooccurs with mimetic verbs with a STATE component, as in (6). kotukotu-su-'rap', kotyokotyo-su-'tickle', kusyakusya-su-'tousle', pokopokosu-'hit lightly', pokupoku-su-'beat (a Buddhist wooden drum)'…”

Section: Gradability Of Mimetic Verbsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Tsujimura (2001) identifies the following three conditions for the totemo modification of Japanese verbs.…”

Section: The Gradability Of Japanese Verbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gradability and Mimetic Verbs in Japanese: A Frame-Semantic Account

Tsui¹

2015

bling_proceedings

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“…Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 2 For instance,Bolinger 1972;Aijmer 1984Aijmer , 1985Coates 1987;Stenström 1986Stenström , 2002Ungerer 1988;Nevalainen 1991;Powell 1992;Sanders and Spooren 1996;Paradis 1997Paradis , 2000Cinque 1999;Lorenz 1999, Schewenter and Traugott 2000Tsujimura 2001.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Between epistemic modality and degree: The case of really

Paradis¹

2003

Modality in Contemporary English

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Background and major claims Research on the interpretation of adverbs such as really, just, only, rather, quite, apparently or absolutely shows that they are contextually sensitive and highly flexible. 2 This paper takes a closer look at really in order to account for its various interpretations. Stenström's (1986) work on really forms the starting-point for the investigation. The following examples are from Stenström (1986: 151), where she claims that the different readings of really are due to position and syntactic function:

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Degree words and scalar structure in Japanese

Cited by 18 publications

References 1 publication

Scale Structure, Degree Modification, and the Semantics of Gradable Predicates

Scale Structure, Degree Modification, and the Semantics of Gradable Predicates

Gradability and Mimetic Verbs in Japanese: A Frame-Semantic Account

Between epistemic modality and degree: The case of really

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