‘A Cackle of Hyenas’ – On the Evaluating Use of English (Classifying) Collective Nouns
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62229/Cuvinte cheie:
collective nouns, classifiers, quantifier-like nouns, evaluating nounsRezumat
The paper shows that collective nouns in English, i.e._a crowd of people, a cackle of hyenas, an ostentation of peacocks_a.s.o., fall into two categories. The first category is represented by quantifier-like nouns, i.e._group, number_, while the second category is illustrated by evaluating nouns, i.e._cackle, ostentation_. The category of evaluating collective nouns is mainly used with animal groups and bears a striking similarity to what has been called the evaluating use of size nouns (see Brems 2010, Tănase-Dogaru 2022). In the evaluating use, the nominal that occupies the first position in the structure simply picks up some of the characteristic lexical features of the second nominal.Referințe
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