Evidence for a distinct kind of noun

Abstract

According to traditional accounts of the count/mass distinction, singular count nouns require a determiner. These accounts do not explain why certain count nouns (e.g., “camp” and “church”) do not obey that rule. In this paper it is argued that these kinds of nouns are distinct from count nouns and, in fact, are lexical noun phrases. Thus, they are labelled “NP-type nouns”. The spontaneous speech of four children and their parents was examined for the use of determiners with NP-type nouns and count nouns. It was shown that the parents made a clear distinction between the two kinds of nouns. That is, they omitted determiners with the NP-type nouns, but not with the count nouns. Each of the children made the same distinction by 4 years of age, and in two cases much earlier. Additionally, the children's use of adjectives was examined and it was found that they modified NP-type nouns as if they were noun phrases. It was concluded that NP-type nouns are represented as noun phrases and that children acquire the category as, or before, they acquire the count/mass distinction. The implications for theories of the count/mass distinction were discussed and additional questions concerning learn-ability and historical change were raised.