Approches plurielles du nom sans déterminant: distributions, interprétations, fonctions éd. by Paula Prescod

Abstract

Reviewed by: Approches plurielles du nom sans déterminant: distributions, interprétations, fonctions éd. by Paula Prescod A. Kate Miller Prescod, Paula, éd. Approches plurielles du nom sans déterminant: distributions, interprétations, fonctions. Peter Lang, 2017. ISBN 978-2-8076-0473-5. Pp. 290. This collection of eleven articles on bare noun forms includes several papers presented at a 2014 conference, Le nom sans déterminant, organized by the Centre d'Études des Relations et Contacts Linguistiques et Littéraires at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne, along with three invited contributions that have been included "pour renforcer la cohérence de l'ouvrage". The introduction to the volume notes that the time is ripe for a close examination of determiner-less nouns, especially in French, where such structures have long been dismissed as mere exceptions to an otherwise very strict determiner requirement. However, determiner-less nouns are considered across a range of languages beyond French (but usually in comparison with it), including English, Greek, Italian, Chinese, and Arabic, as well as Guianese and Vincentian creoles. Here, the editor is careful to point out that the inclusion of the latter, nonstandardized languages sets this work apart from similar volumes (a couple of English-language collections are cited). As the title indicates, the analytical approaches taken also vary across the contributions, with some focusing on syntax and others on semantics or on discourse analysis. Additionally, the articles each focus on distinct contexts in which bare noun forms are permitted, which vary quite a bit across [End Page 251] the different languages studied. Collections of this type often exhibit inconsistent, sometimes contradictory, use of terminology from one article to the next, and the current volume is no exception: Some authors discuss noms nus and others articles zéro, to name only two. The editor addresses this issue head-on in the introduction, discussing the nuances of the different terms that have been used in the literature—thus, article zéro implies the presence of a null article, whereas nom nu implies the absence of any article—and noting that the title of the volume opts for nom sans déterminant as a more neutral term. However, it might be best not to over-think the specific terminology used in the different contributions. Most of the authors seem to eschew any explanation or justification of their terminological choices, instead diving right into the analysis of the structures under examination, without any detriment to reader comprehension. Altogether, the articles collected in this volume present a broad yet nuanced analysis of determiner-less noun forms, although the individual contributions could easily be read as stand-alone articles. However, the organization of the articles does not seem to follow any discernable pattern—the chapters are not grouped, for example, by the language examined or the theoretical approach taken—and the titles of some contributions are a bit vague in that the language under examination is not always overtly stated. Interested readers can consult the introduction, which explicitly summarizes the content of each contribution, or the abstracts, presented in both French and English, that precede each article. A. Kate Miller Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis Copyright © 2019 American Association of Teachers of French