Nouns and Noun Phrases - University of Macau Library

696 Syntax of Dutch: nouns and noun phrases
the same age, and in (45b) a prototypical girl from the polder and a prototypical girl
from the city. It seems, however, that even in these cases the use of an indefinite
noun phrase, as in the primed examples, is much preferred by most speakers.
(45) a. Het meisje is op die leeftijd volwassener dan de jongen.
the girl is at that age more mature than the boy
a′. Meisjes zijn op die leeftijd volwassener dan jongens.
girls are at that age more mature than boys
b. Het meisje uit de polder is volwassener dan het meisje uit de stad.
the girl from the polder is more mature than the girl from the city
b′. Meisjes uit de polder zijn volwassener dan meisjes uit de stad.
girls from the polder are more mature than girls from the city
The generic interpretation of the noun phrases in the primeless examples in (45) is
clearly facilitated by the use of the modifiers: in (45a) the use of the adverbial
phrase op die leeftijd ‘at that age’ and in (45b) by the attributively used PP uit de
polder/stad ‘from the polder/city’. That attributive modifiers make the generic
reading more readily available is also clear from the examples in (46). Perhaps the
use of the attributive modifier gebonden makes a prototypical reading more readily
available due to the fact that it divides the superset of books into two subsets, so
that we can compare the prototypical members of these subsets: the prototypical
member of the set of bound books is unaffordable, in contrast to the prototypical
member of the set of paperbacks or pocket books.
(46) a. *? Het boek is tegenwoordig onbetaalbaar.
the book is nowadays unaffordable
b. Het gebonden boek is tegenwoordig onbetaalbaar.
the bound book is nowadays unaffordable
This probably also accounts for the fact that classes that are relatively high in the
speaker’s taxonomy are normally not preceded by a definite article in generic
sentences. Example like (47a) contrast sharply with examples like (43b): the fact
that mammals are higher in the taxonomy than zebras apparently makes it easier for
the speaker to picture a prototypical zebra than a prototypical mammal. Reference
to a typical member is easier, and hence the use of an indefinite article, as in
(47b&c), is preferred.
(47) a. % Het zoogdier is warmbloedig.
the mammal is warm.blooded
b. Een zoogdier is warmbloedig.
a mammal is warm.blooded
c. Zoogdieren zijn warmbloedig.
mammals are warm.blooded
From the discussion above, we may perhaps conclude that the ambiguity between
the regular referential reading and the generic reading of a singular definite noun
phrase is related to the question of whether the language user is able to interpret the
noun phrase as referring to a prototype of a certain set of entities (where many nonlinguistic
aspects may play a role).