Generalizing nouns

Abstract

This paper deals with specific nouns that are discussed from the semantic point of view as unspecific and abstract. From the functional perspective they can be seen as components of certain lexicogrammatical patterns used to compose a text. Therefore this specific functional noun group is identified on the junction between lexis and grammar. These nouns have not been detected by Lithuanian linguists, but they have been identified and analyzed in the English langauge. Nouns such as aim, fact, problem, thing, etc. are given different names by different linguists: container nouns, general nouns, unspecific nouns, anaphoric nouns, carrier nouns, shell nouns, signalling nouns, etc. Nevertheless, all of them share the same features. They are of unspecific meaning and perform the function of generalizing stretches of text; therefore, they are called generalizing nouns in this paper. As these nouns are of abstract meaning, they require specific complementation in the text; alternately, these nouns are chosen when the need is to generalize and to sum up certain parts of a text. This paper describes research on English generalizing nouns; discusses possibilities of identifying and classifying Lithuanian generalizing nouns; and presents a typical case of the usage of the noun dalykas (thing).