This course will introduce students to the basics of degree semantics. Next to individuals, truth-values, and situations, the grammar of natural languages can also make reference to the ontological domain of degrees. This can be seen by the existence of degree-sensitive expressions, such as (i) to (iii) in many (though not all) languages of the world:
(i) How deep is the water? (Degree Questions)
(ii.) The ship was longer than the water was deep. (Comparative Constructions).
(iii.) Urszula is as tall as Bogdan.
In the course, we will look at the standard ways in which degrees are factored into the meaning of utterances in a generative semantic system à la Heim & Kratzer (1998). To this end, we will look at degree-sensitive expresions in positive, comparative and equative constructions in English and German. Then we will look at different strategies of making reference to degrees, by considering data from Hausa and Yoruba. Finally, based on much work by Sigrid beck and colleagues, we will discuss the question of cross-linguistic differences in degree-reference, i.e. the question of whether there are degree-less languages.
- Kursleiter:in: Prof. Dr. Malte Zimmermann