Linguistics Colloquium: "Counting, Measuring, and Fractions"
- Starts: 5:15 pm on Thursday, September 7, 2017
- Ends: 6:30 pm on Thursday, September 7, 2017
- Register
David Liebesman
Associate Professor of Philosophy & Linguistics
University of Calgary
(and former BU Assistant Professor of Philosophy)
Abstract:
Counting and measuring seem quite different: one requires enumerating distinct entities, while the other requires assigning a particular value along a conventional scale (e.g. weight). This seeming difference is reflected in most semantic accounts of number words ("three") and measure phrases ("three pounds"). I argue that when we examine the nature of counting with mixed fractions ("two and a half") we discover that our semantic accounts of counting and measuring should be continuous. I then propose a semantics of number words that incorporates this discovery.
- Location:
- CILSE 610 Commonwealth Ave, Room 101
- Contact Name:
- Carol Neidle
- Contact Phone:
- (617) 353-6218