The Meaning of More [Paperback]

This book examines the semantics of comparative constructions using words such asmore, as, too, and so on, and proposes a new account that rejects a fundamental assumption of the degree semantics framework. The findings have implications not only for semantics but also for language acquisition and cognitive science more broadly.This book reimagines the compositional semantics of comparative sentences using words such asmore,as,too, and others. The book's central thesis entails a rejection of a fundamental assumption of degree semantic frameworks: that gradable adjectives liketalllexicalize functions from individuals to degrees, i.e., measure functions.Alexis Wellwood argues that comparative expressions in English themselves introduce?measure functions; this is the case whether that morphology targets adjectives, as in?tallerormore intelligent; nouns, as inmore coffee,more coffees; verbs, such asrun more,jump more; or expressions of other categories. Furthermore, she suggests that expressions that comfortably and meaningfully appear in the comparative form should be distinguished from those that do not in terms of a general notion of measurability : a measurable predicate has a domain of application with non-trivial structure. This notion unifies the independently motivated distinctions between, for example, gradable and non-gradable adjectives, mass and count nouns, singular and plural noun phrases, and telic and atelic verb phrases. Based on careful examination of the distribution of dimensions for comparison within the class of measurable predicates, she ties the selection of measure functions to the specific nature and structure of the domain entities targeted for measurement.?The book ultimately explores how, precisely, we should understand semantic theories that invoke the nature of domain entities: does the theory depend for its explanation on features of metal³Î