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Number words as number names

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Abstract

This paper criticizes the view that number words in argument position retain the meaning they have on an adjectival or determiner use (a generalized quantifier or plural property), as argued by Hofweber (Philos Rev 114(2):179–225, 2005) and Moltmann (Philos Stud 162(3):499–534, 2013a, Abstract objects and the semantics of natural language, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013b). In particular the paper re-evaluates syntactic evidence from German given in Moltmann (2013a, b) to that effect.

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Correspondence to Friederike Moltmann.

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Moltmann, F. Number words as number names. Linguist and Philos 40, 331–345 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-017-9214-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-017-9214-y

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