In
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
, a privative adjective is an
adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Tra ...
which seems to exclude members of the
extension
Extension, extend or extended may refer to:
Mathematics
Logic or set theory
* Axiom of extensionality
* Extensible cardinal
* Extension (model theory)
* Extension (predicate logic), the set of tuples of values that satisfy the predicate
* E ...
of the
noun
A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for:
* Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
which it modifies. For instance, "fake" is privative since a "fake nose" is not an actual nose. Other examples in English include "pretend", "fictitious", and "artificial". The defining feature of privative adjectives is shown below in set theoretic notation.
# An adjective
is ''privative'' if for any noun
, we have that
.
Privative adjectives are non-subsective modifier, subsective, but behave differently from ordinary non-subsectives in important respects, at least in English grammar, English. While ordinary non-subsectives such as the
linguistic modality, modal adjective "alleged" can only be used in
attributive position, privative adjectives can be used either in attributive or
predicative position. In this regard, privative adjectives pattern more like
intersective adjective In linguistics, an intersective modifier is an expression which modifies another by delivering the intersection of their denotations. One example is the English adjective "blue", whose intersectivity can be seen in the fact that being a "blue pig ...
s such as "blue".
# Sara is an alleged spy. (non-subsective, attributive)
# #Sara is alleged. (non-subsective, predicative)
# That is a fake nose. (privative, attributive)
# That nose is fake. (privative, predicative)
# That is a blue pig. (intersective, attributive)
# That pig is blue. (intersective, predicative)
In part because of this pattern,
Partee (1997) argued that privative adjectives are in fact intersective adjectives which
coerce
Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
a broader interpretation of the nouns they modify. On this analysis, listeners treat fake noses as falling within the extension of the noun "nose" because refusing to do so would render the expression "fake nose" self-contradictory.
See also
*
Adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Tra ...
*
Grammatical modifier
In linguistics, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure which ''modifies'' the meaning of another element in the structure. For instance, the adjective "red" acts as a modifier in the noun phrase "red ball", provi ...
*
Intersective modifier In linguistics, an intersective modifier is an expression which modifies another by delivering the intersection of their denotations. One example is the English adjective "blue", whose intersectivity can be seen in the fact that being a "blue pig ...
*
Subsective modifier In linguistics, a subsective modifier is an expression which modifies another by delivering a subset of its denotation. For instance, the English adjective "skilled" is subsective since being a skilled surgeon entails being a surgeon. By contrast, ...
References
{{lexical categories, state=collapsed
Grammar
Semantics
Adjectives by type
Formal semantics (natural language)