Constraints on the position and interpretation of bare singular indefinites in Russian
In this paper, I discuss the distribution of bare singular indefinite nominals in Russian. I argue that these nominal phrases are full-fledged indefinites and can have both specific and non-specific indefinite interpretations. However, their appearance in the preverbal subject position is not common...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | deu |
Published: |
University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
2016-12-01
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Series: | Linguistica |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://journals.uni-lj.si/linguistica/article/view/7196 |
Summary: | In this paper, I discuss the distribution of bare singular indefinite nominals in Russian. I argue that these nominal phrases are full-fledged indefinites and can have both specific and non-specific indefinite interpretations. However, their appearance in the preverbal subject position is not common. I argue in this paper that this restriction exists because a specific interpretation, or, in other words, a referential reading, required for this position cannot be unambiguously established with BSgs without any additional sentential specification. Additionally, I discuss some consequences of my proposal, such as BSg subjects of individual-level predicates, and BSg subjects in thetic judgments. |
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ISSN: | 0024-3922 2350-420X |