Substantive (noun or adjective)

From Glottopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The term substantive is occasionally used to denote the word class consisting of nouns and adjectives, sometimes defined by the feature [+N]' (=noun).

Comments

This is the terminology used in Chomsky (1981:48) and occasionally in later work influenced by him. Chomsky refers to his substantive category as "based on traditional grammar". This seems to be due to a misunderstanding, since the traditional term substantive specifically excludes adjectives (see substantive (continental)), while Chomsky specifically includes them. (Maybe he was vaguely aware that in an older tradition, there was a term for a class including both nouns and adjectives, but this term is noun (Latin nomen).)

Polysemy

Substantive also denotes

Synonyms

Origin

Apparently first used by Chomsky (1981:48).

See also

References

Chomsky, Noam. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding. Dordrecht: Foris.