Countability in Absence of Count Syntax: Evidence from Japanese Quantity Judgments

要旨

We investigated the interaction of mass-count syntax and item-specific wordmeanings by comparing quantity judgments in two mass-count languages(English, French) and a classifier language (Japanese). Speakers of bothEnglish and Japanese based quantity judgments on volume for substance-massterms (e.g., judging two large portions of toothpaste to be moretoothpaste thansix tiny portions) but on number for count nouns (e.g., shoes) andobject-mass nouns (e.g., judging that six small pieces of furniture are morefurniture than two large pieces). For words that can be used in either massor count syntax in English (e.g., string), English quantity judgmentsshifted as a function of mass-count syntax (i.e., based on number when usedin count syntax, but on volume when used in mass syntax), whileapproximately 50% of Japanese quantity judgments were based on number,falling between English mass and count judgments. For words that are massnouns in English but count nouns in French (e.g., spinach), quantityjudgments shifted as a function of syntax between these languages, whileJapanese judgments were not different from the count judgments of Frenchspeakers, and were based mainly on number. We argue that, across languages,mass-count syntax is not necessary for nouns to specify individuation, butacts to select from among universally available lexical meanings.

主題