Mass and count nouns show a clear difference in their properties and morphosyntactic behavior. However, there are still nouns that behave slightly differently, making it difficult to assign them to the group of mass or alternatively count nouns. Such nouns are superordinate nouns like 'furniture' and 'footwear'. Taking a look at the group of collective nouns in Russian, this paper applies the issue of mass and count properties as well as nouns being difficult to classify to this group. The analysis shows that within the group of Russian collective nouns, there is also a difference in the behavior of some nouns. These nouns are then categorized into the tentative subgroups 'countable collective nouns' and 'superordinate collective nouns' and the paper proposes a possible explanation for their behavior.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The mass/count distinction
3. Collective nouns in Russian
4. Analysis
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the linguistic properties of collective nouns in Russian, specifically focusing on their morphosyntactic behavior regarding the mass/count distinction. It aims to determine whether these nouns behave as mass nouns, count nouns, or resemble English superordinate nouns, while investigating the existence of unique subgroups within the Russian collective category.
- Morphosyntactic analysis of Russian collective nouns
- Comparison of mass and count noun properties in Slavic and Indo-European languages
- Identification of 'countable' versus 'superordinate' collective noun subgroups
- Interaction with determiners, numerals, and quantificational elements
- Semantic implications of atomic parts in collective and superordinate nouns
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
There has been a lot of research on the distinction between mass (e.g. water, blood) and count (e.g. cat, table) nouns in many languages. Many linguists such as Chierchia and Rothstein identified that what distinguishes mass nouns from count nouns is their disability to form a morphological plural and directly combine with numeral quantifiers or ‘count adjectives’ – a term used by Deal (2017) – such as small and big. Furthermore, mass nouns tend to combine with different determiners than count nouns. These features are attributed to the properties concerning sums and parts of mass nouns i.e. cumulativity and divisiveness.
Linguists go on to discuss special cases of languages, particularly referring to English, that show variation in how they distinguish between mass and count nouns. These special cases include superordinate nouns like furniture or footwear that seem to stand somewhere in between the two categories.
One language that has not been in the focus of this discussion in recent years is Russian. While Russian does have mass as well as count nouns, there is also the category of collective nouns (Russian soberatel’nye sušestvitel’nye). They appear to be a special group, because they show some properties of count nouns while seemingly behaving like mass nouns. In this respect they seem to have something in common with English superordinate nouns. This paper aims to take a closer look at the group of collective nouns in Russian and determine which of the qualities that are commonly assigned to mass or count nouns they show. Additionally, it is going to analyze in how far the behave like mass nouns, count nouns or in how far they resemble superordinate nouns.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the theoretical background of the mass/count distinction and defines the scope of the study regarding Russian collective nouns.
2. The mass/count distinction: Discusses properties like cumulativity, divisiveness, and morphosyntactic behaviors alongside the role of 'count adjectives' in English.
3. Collective nouns in Russian: Provides an overview of Russian collective nouns, their categorization, and highlights fundamental differences from English collective noun behavior.
4. Analysis: Investigates the morphosyntactic behavior of Russian collective nouns, specifically addressing pluralization, numeral combination, and identifying specific subgroups.
5. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, confirming that most Russian collective nouns behave like mass nouns, while identifying sub-categories that warrant further research.
Keywords
Russian, Collective Nouns, Mass Nouns, Count Nouns, Linguistics, Morphosyntax, Superordinate Nouns, Cumulativity, Divisiveness, Quantifiers, Pluralization, Semantic Variation, Indo-European Languages, Numeral Combination, STUBS
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
The research focuses on investigating the linguistic classification of Russian collective nouns within the established framework of the mass/count distinction.
What are the central themes discussed in the paper?
Key themes include morphosyntactic constraints, the properties of cumulativity and divisiveness, and the behavior of nouns that function as superordinate terms.
What is the main research question?
The paper asks whether Russian collective nouns act primarily as mass or count nouns and how they relate to the unique cross-linguistic category of superordinate nouns.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author performs a grammatical analysis and comparative survey, testing collective nouns against standard morphosyntactic criteria used to distinguish between mass and count nouns.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section analyzes how Russian collective nouns interact with numerals, D-quantifiers, 'count adjectives', and relational nouns like 'quantity of' or 'part of'.
How would you summarize the work in a few keywords?
The work is defined by the study of Russian collective nouns, mass-count distinctions, morphosyntax, and lexical semantics.
Why did the author classify 'jel’nik' and 'bereznjak' as special cases?
They are classified as 'countable collective nouns' because, unlike the general class of collective nouns in Russian, they can be pluralized and combined with numerals in certain contexts.
What is the significance of the distinction between common collective nouns and superordinate nouns?
The author argues that while both share mass-like properties, superordinate nouns (like 'furniture') denote entities with varying appearances, creating a semantic necessity to combine with 'count adjectives', whereas common collective nouns (like 'foliage') do not.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Stella Bremer (Autor:in), 2018, Mass and Count Noun Classification in Russian. A Study of Superordinate and Collective Nouns, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1440840
