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On the Universality and Variation of the Adjective Category

Hallonsten Halling, Pernilla (2009) SPVR02 20091
Master's Programme: Language and Linguistics
General Linguistics
Abstract
Over decades of linguistic research, the identity and ambiguity of a possible lexical category labeled ‘adjectives’ have been as lively debated as the possible universality of lexical categories as such. Some argue that adjectives can be found in every language, whereas others deny their existence completely. The only thing that remains clear, irrespective of which view is employed, is that the expressions that are often called adjectives have a remarkably ambiguous nature, within and across languages. This thesis aims to make clear the identity of adjectives, both in terms of discussing a theoretical background that presents different perspectives, and in testing empirically whether an adjective category can be identified across a number... (More)
Over decades of linguistic research, the identity and ambiguity of a possible lexical category labeled ‘adjectives’ have been as lively debated as the possible universality of lexical categories as such. Some argue that adjectives can be found in every language, whereas others deny their existence completely. The only thing that remains clear, irrespective of which view is employed, is that the expressions that are often called adjectives have a remarkably ambiguous nature, within and across languages. This thesis aims to make clear the identity of adjectives, both in terms of discussing a theoretical background that presents different perspectives, and in testing empirically whether an adjective category can be identified across a number of languages and what universal and language-specific conclusions can be drawn from this. The purpose is accordingly not only to discern the identity of this lexical category, but also to explain its ambiguity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hallonsten Halling, Pernilla
supervisor
organization
course
SPVR02 20091
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
language
English
id
2540703
date added to LUP
2012-05-15 11:01:17
date last changed
2012-05-15 11:01:17
@misc{2540703,
  abstract     = {{Over decades of linguistic research, the identity and ambiguity of a possible lexical category labeled ‘adjectives’ have been as lively debated as the possible universality of lexical categories as such. Some argue that adjectives can be found in every language, whereas others deny their existence completely. The only thing that remains clear, irrespective of which view is employed, is that the expressions that are often called adjectives have a remarkably ambiguous nature, within and across languages. This thesis aims to make clear the identity of adjectives, both in terms of discussing a theoretical background that presents different perspectives, and in testing empirically whether an adjective category can be identified across a number of languages and what universal and language-specific conclusions can be drawn from this. The purpose is accordingly not only to discern the identity of this lexical category, but also to explain its ambiguity.}},
  author       = {{Hallonsten Halling, Pernilla}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{On the Universality and Variation of the Adjective Category}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}