The interpretation of the mass-count distinction across languages and populations: Introduction

Jing Lin,Jeannette Schaeffer,Aviya Hacohen

doi:10.5334/gjgl.638

Jing Lin, Jeannette Schaeffer + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.638

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Abstract

In this special collection we bring together experimental studies on the semantic and cognitive correlates of the syntactic mass-count distinction in different (learner) populations and typologically diverse languages. Although the theoretical distinction between mass and count has been investigated extensively in many different adult languages, experimental research on how this distinction is interpreted by different types of learners and speakers is far rarer. The aim of the current special collection is thus to provide a unique set of highly controlled cross-linguistic and cross-population data that helps us further examine various theories of the syntactic mass-count distinction and the interactions between language, cognition and the world.

Highlights

What exactly do we mean when we talk about the syntactic mass-count distinction? Let us start with ontology
The special collection includes studies reporting the interpretation of the mass-count distinction in a number of typologically diverse languages, namely, Dutch, Korean (MacDonald & Carroll), Mandarin Chinese (Lin & Schaeffer), and Yudja (Lima), in which different learner populations are investigated, varying from monolinguals (Lima; Lin & Schaeffer; van Witteloostuijn & Schaeffer), bilinguals (Lima; Yin & O’Brien), and adult second language learners (MacDonald & Carroll), to children with Specific Language Impairment
The results show that the adult participants relied almost exclusively on number-based judgments when presented with count nouns such as shoes and object-mass nouns such as silverware (100% and 97%, respectively)

Summary

Introduction

In this special collection we bring together experimental studies on the semantic and cognitive correlates of the syntactic mass-count distinction in different (learner) populations and typologically diverse languages. The special collection includes studies reporting the interpretation of the mass-count distinction in a number of typologically diverse languages, namely, Dutch (van Witteloostuijn & Schaeffer), Korean (MacDonald & Carroll), Mandarin Chinese (Lin & Schaeffer), and Yudja (Lima), in which different learner populations are investigated, varying from monolinguals (Lima; Lin & Schaeffer; van Witteloostuijn & Schaeffer), bilinguals (Lima; Yin & O’Brien), and adult second language learners (MacDonald & Carroll), to children with Specific Language Impairment (van Witteloostuijn & Schaeffer).

Results

Conclusion