ABSTRACT

Greenberg (2007) analyzes the similarities and differences between generic sentences with indefinite singular and bare plural subjects in English, with respect to their exceptions-tolerance characteristics. On the other hand, Kwak (2007) proposes that in both English and Korean, indefinite singular and bare plural generics exist, and that in Korean, which displays various patterns as to plurality, another category called ‘pseudo characterizing generic’ exists. Kwak (2009) further proposes that countability in Korean is determined by humanness, and that the interpretations of both English generics and Korean generics with human count nouns exhibit similar patterns. In this paper, however, I argue that Kwak’s (2007, 2009) arguments are not supported by the data. I further propose that in Korean, no distinction between indefinite singular and bare plural generics exists, since these two generics derive the same readings in Korean, unlike in English, and the seemingly singular subjects in Korean generic sentences are not really singular.

KEYWORD

indefinite singular generics, bare plural generics, exceptions, in-virtue-of generalizations(=normative generics), descriptive generalizations(=characterizing generics)

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