Gradable Nouns as Concepts Without Prototypes

Abstract

Kamp and Partee’s (Cognition, 57:129–191, 1995) typology of concepts combines features from a classical theory of concepts with features from Prototype Theory. They argue for the existence of a class of concepts that have graded membership but lack prototypes; a crucial characteristic of such concepts (like TALL) is that they involve properties without an upper bound (there is no limit to how tall something can be, for example). In this paper, I explore the links between Kamp and Partee’s typology and the linguistic domain of nominal gradability. I claim that the class of nouns that are linguistically gradable (i.e., denote a predicate with a degree argument, as diagnosed by various monotonicity-based tests) corresponds precisely to those concepts that have graded membership but lack a prototype. Based on several experiments, I show that the concepts expressed by such nouns are primarily associated with unbounded properties, while the concepts expressed by non-gradable nouns are associated with bounded or all-or-nothing properties. For example, while participants strongly associate both student and nerd with intelligence, they judge that nerdiness increases with intelligence (with no upper limit) while qualifying as a typical student simply requires some above-standard degree of intelligence.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Experiment 1

All experimental materials in these appendices are translated from the original Dutch. The experiment only used images either in the public domain (PD-1923/PD-US-no notice) or licensed under Creative Commons terms (CC BY/CC BY-NC), but are not included below as they failed to meet the copyright requirements for the present volume.

The items on the two lists below were shown 3 times at different points in the questionnaire; each time, all 10 instantiations of the concept were shown in the same order and on a single page. In each of the 3 parts, subjects rated each item on a 7-point scale (by ticking a box) according to a different criterion: first, familiarity; second, typicality; and third, emotional attitude. Items consisted of a name and a picture with a mouse-over description.

Birds
Name	Picture (url)	Mouse-over text
Blackbird	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Male_blackbird-b.jpg	This 25-cm-tall songbird occurs mainly in Europe. It’s an omnivore with an extensive song repertoire.
Ostrich	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ostrich_Struthio_camelus_Tanzania_3739_cropped_Nevit.jpg	The ostrich lives in Africa and is the biggest bird on earth. It can’t fly but it can run very fast. Females lay their eggs in a common nest and take turns brooding.
Rock bunting	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emberiza_cia_Martien_Brand.jpg	This 16-cm-tall songbird occurs in Asia, Northern Africa and Southern Europe. It nests on or close to the ground and feeds on insects and seeds.
Egyptian goose	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Alopochen_aegyptiaca#/media/File:Alopochen_aegyptiacus_-_Egyptian_goose.JPG	This waterfowl isn’t actually a goose but a duck. Originally from Africa; the ones we find in the Netherlands are feralised ornamental birds.
Gannet	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jan-van-gent.JPG	This large, aerodynamic seabird hunts for fish in the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Its legs and wings are weak, so it can only fly in strong winds. Is a stellar diver.
Kiwi	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tokoeka.jpg	This New-Zealand bird is roughly the size of a chicken, but lays eggs six times the size of a chicken’s egg. It can’t fly and is mainly nocturnal.
Green honeycreeper	https://www.flickr.com/photos/pazzani/5553987995	A small tropical songbird that occurs in Central and South America. Feeds predominantly on nectar.
Emperor penguin	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emperor_Penguin_Manchot_empereur.jpg	The biggest penguin; measures up to 120 cm and weighs up to 45 kilos. Subsists mainly on fish. It can’t fly, but it can dive up to 500 meters deep and stay underwater for up to 18 min.
Kingfisher	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common_Kingfisher_Alcedo_atthis.jpg	This 16-cm-tall bird occurs in Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. It dives for fish and nests in steep riverbanks.
Little grebe	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tachybaptus_ruficollis_ruficollis.jpg	This small, shy water bird is related to the great crested grabe. It occurs in large parts of Europe, Asia and Africa and feeds mainly on water insects and larvae.

Geniuses
Name	Picture	Mouse-over text
Leonardo da Vinci	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Possible_Self-Portrait_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg	(1452-1519): Italian artist, scientist, architect and inventor. Considered one of the best painters ever, with the Mona Lisa as his most famous work. His designs include things as wide-ranging as defence works, musical instruments to unbuildable but ingenious flying machines. Was also a gifted astronomer and physiologist.
Emily Dickinson	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Emily_Dickinson#/media/File:Emily_Dickinson_daguerreotype_(cropped).jpg	(1830–1886): American poet who lived her life in near-total seclusion. Published only a few poems during her lifetime (which her publisher adjusted to conform to the age’s style and taste; her enormous body of work was only discovered after her death. Now considered one of the greatest American poets, whose unconventional style placed her far ahead of her time.
Dmitri Mendeleev	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Mendeleev#/media/File:DIMendeleevCab.jpg	(1834–1907): Russian chemist and inventor of the Periodic Table of Elements, a spatial ordering of all chemical elements based on their properties, which came to him in a dream. It correctly predicted the existence of various elements that hadn’t yet been discovered.
Steve Jobs	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Jobs_Headshot_2010-CROP.jpg	(1955–2011): Entrepreneur and pioneer of the 70 s computer revolution. Saved the struggling Apple company with innovative technology and groundbreaking, iconic design. Was also CEO of Pixar, which under his leadership produced several of the most critically acknowledged animation films ever.
Hildegard von Bingen	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_von_Bingen#/media/File:Hildegard_von_Bingen.jpg	(1098–1179): Benedictine abbess, writer, poet, composer, mystical theologian, scientist and philosopher. Is considered one of the founders of natural history as a scientific field. For her religious poetry, she invented her own script and hundreds of new words. Her music is still regularly performed.
Marie Skło-dowska Curie	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Maria_Sklodowska-Curie#/media/File:Marie_Curie_1900_-_DIG17379.jpg	(1967–1934):$^\mathrm{a}$ Polish-French physicist and chemist, pioneer in the field of radioactivity (which eventually caused her death). She was the first female professor at the university of Paris, the first woman to win a Nobel prize, the first person to win a second Nobel prize, and the only recipient of two Nobel prizes in different categories.
Rabindranath Tagore	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore#/media/File:Rabindranath_Tagore_in_1909.jpg	(1861–1942): Bengali poet, composer, writer, painter, independence and peace activist and education reformer. Published his first volume of poetry when he was 16, and his first opera when he was 20. Was the first non-western winner of the Nobel prize for literature (in 1913) and used the prize money to found his own university. Wrote the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh.
Albert Einstein	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Portrait_photographs_of_Albert_Einstein#/media/File:Einstein-formal_portrait-35_(cropped).jpg	(1879–1955): German physicist and founder of the theory of relativity. At 27, in a single year, he published 4 revolutionary physics papers on different topics, written in his spare time next to his day job as an office clerk. Published over 300 scientific articles during his lifetime and won a Nobel prize in 1921.
Michael Jackson	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_Jackson_Cannescropped.jpg	(1958–2009): Eccentric singer, songwriter, dancer and producer known as the ‘King of Pop’. Began his singing career as a five-year-old, in the family group The Jackson Five. His album ‘Thriller’ is the best-sold album of all time; the eponymous music video is considered revolutionary and is the only music video ever to be included in the American national film registry.
Björk	https://www.flickr.com/photos/26377221@N06/2498816562	(1965-): This Icelandic singer and multi-instrumentalist released her debut album when she was 11. Is known for her groundbreaking, avant-gardistic music and unique music videos, on which she collaborates with international film directors, artists and fashion designers. In 2011, she released an album consisting fully of interactive apps, which has since been included in the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York. Has also received multiple acting awards.

1. $^\mathrm{a}$Note the typo in these dates (1967 instead of 1867); I do not expect this to have influenced the results in any way

Appendix 2: Experiment 3

The items on the list below were shown in blocks of 10 items per page; within each page, items were randomised differently for each participant. Each item started with the statement “A real, typical X...” followed by 3 possible continuations; first, an All-or-nothing one (A); second, a Bounded one (B); and third, an Unbounded one (U). Participants had to choose exactly 1 of the continuations by ticking a box.

The Dutch construction translated here somewhat inaccurately with ‘but not’ is maar ook weer niet (‘but also again not’), which is used to qualify a previous utterance by explicitly negating a stronger alternative, e.g. Ze was boos, maar ook weer niet woedend ‘she was angry, but not exactly furious’. It is somewhat weaker than plain ‘but not’; a speaker who utters maar ook weer niet X seems to be hedging her commitment to the belief that X is false. As a result, the B continuations involve a slight asymmetry that is mostly lost in the translations below: the boundedness of the property is of secondary importance to possessing it in the first place.

Items: NERD	Page
A real, typical nerd:	1
A has a peculiar hobby/interest that he/she puts a lot of time into and knows a lot about
B has a peculiar hobby/interest that he/she puts a lot of time into and knows a lot about, but not an unrealistic lot
U has a peculiar hobby/interest that he/she puts a lot of time into and knows a lot about—the more the better
A real, typical nerd:	2
A has great computer skills
B has great computer skills, but not unrealistically great
U has great computer skills—the greater the skills, the better
A real, typical nerd:	3
A is socially awkward
B is socially awkward, but not extremely socially awkward
U is socially awkward—the more socially awkward, the better
A real, typical nerd:	4
A wears glasses
B wears strong glasses, but not ridiculously strong
U wears strong glasses—the stronger, the better
A real, typical nerd:	5
A is intelligent
B is intelligent, but not absurdly intelligent
U is intelligent—the more intelligent, the better

Items: FRAT BOY	Page
A real, typical frat boy	1
A behaves in an arrogant manner
B behaves in an arrogant manner, but not absurdly arrogant
U behaves in an arrogant manner—the more arrogant, the better
A real, typical frat boy	2
A wears a suit jacket and tie
B wears a suit jacket and tie, but not 24/7
U wears a suit jacket and tie—the more often the better, he preferably sleeps in them too
A real, typical frat boy	3
A has a posh accent
B has a posh accent, but not extremely posh
U has a posh accent—the posher, the frattier
A real, typical frat boy	4
A drinks a lot of beer
B drinks a lot of beer, but not an unrealistic lot
U drinks a lot of beer—the more, and the more frequently, the frattier
A real, typical frat boy	5
A is loud and obnoxious
B is loud and obnoxious, but not ridiculously loud and obnoxious
U is loud and obnoxious—the louder and more obnoxious, the better

Items: HIPSTER	Page
A real, typical hipster	1
A wears glasses
B wears glasses, but not extremely prominent ones
U wears glasses—the more prominent, the more hipsterish
A real, typical hipster	2
A has an alternative, eccentric style
B has an alternative, eccentric style, but not extremely alternative or eccentric
U has an alternative, eccentric style—the more alternative/eccentric, the better
A real, typical hipster	3
A has a long and/or wild beard
B has a long and/or wild beard, but not extremely long or wild
U has a long and/or wild bird—the longer/wilder, the more hipsterish
A real, typical hipster	4
A loves obscure music
B loves obscure music, but not extremely obscure
U loves obscure music—the more obscure and unknown, the better
A real, typical hipster:	5
A is preoccupied with special, unique and ’pure’ food/coffee/beers
B is preoccupied with special, unique and ’pure’ food/coffee/beers, but not extremely obsessed by them
U is preoccupied with special, unique and ’pure’ food/coffee/beers—the bigger his/her obsession, the better

Items: ARSEHOLE	Page
A real, typical arsehole:	1
A cares little about other people’s needs
B cares little about other people’s needs, but is not completely uncaring
U cares little about other people’s needs—the less, the better
A real, typical arsehole	2
A has an unsympathetic personality
B has an unsympathetic personality, but also not pathologically unsympathetic
U has an unsympathetic personality—the more unsympathetic, the better
A real, typical arsehole:	3
A is a man
B is a man, but not an absurdly masculine testosterone bomb
U is a man—the more masculine, the better
A real, typical arsehole	4
A behaves in a rude, mean manner
B behaves in a rude, mean manner, but not excessively rude or mean
U behaves in a rude, mean manner—the worse and the more often, the better
A real, typical arsehole	5
A is selfish
B is selfish, but doesn’t always think of nobody but himself
U is selfish—the more selfish, the better

Items: NEUROTIC	Page
A real, typical neurotic	1
A worries about everything
B worries about everything, but not inordinately deeply or frequently
U worries about everything—the deeper and more frequent the worries, the more neurotic
A real, typical neurotic	2
A has tics and compulsive tendencies
B has tics and compulsive tendencies, but moderately
U has tics and compulsive tendencies—the more, the more neurotic
A real, typical neurotic	3
A behaves in a nervous and agitated manner
B behaves in a nervous and agitated manner, but not excessively nervous and agitated
U behaves in a nervous and agitated manner—the more nervous and agitated, the more neurotic
A real, typical neurotic	4
A is insecure
B is insecure, but not overly insecure
U is insecure—the more insecure, the more neurotic
A real, typical neurotic	5
A is focused on tiny details
B is focused on tiny details, but not absurdly so
U is focused on tiny details—the more focused, and the more trivial the details, the better

Items: BIRD	Page
A real, typical bird:	1
A lays eggs
B lays eggs, but not extremely many
U lays eggs—the more the better
A real, typical bird	2
A flies
B flies, but not all day long
U flies—the longer and the more often, the better
A real, typical bird	3
A has feathers
B has feathers, but also spots without feathers
U has feathers all over its body, the more the better
A real, typical bird	4
A has wings
B has wings, but not overly prominent ones
U has wings—the more prominent the better
A real, typical bird	5
A has a beak
B has a beak, but not an extremely big or striking one
U has a beak—the more big/striking, the better

Items: CAR SALESMAN	Page
A real, typical car salesman	1
A knows a lot about cars
B knows a lot about cars, but not an extreme lot
U knows a lot about cars—the more, the better
A real, typical car salesman	2
A dresses smartly
B dresses smartly, but not too smart
U dresses smartly—the smarter, the better
A real, typical car salesman	3
A is a smooth talker
B is a smooth talker, but not absurdly smooth
U is a smooth talker—the smoother, the better
A real, typical car salesman	4
A is untrustworthy
B is untrustworthy, but not extremely untrustworthy
U is untrustworthy—the more untrustworthy, the better
A real, typical car salesman	5
A behaves in a friendly and jovial manner
B behaves in a friendly and jovial manner, but not overly friendly and jovial
U behaves in a friendly and jovial manner—the more friendly and jovial, the better

Items: FURNITURE	Page
A real, typical item of furniture	1
A has a surface for sitting or putting something on
B has a surface for sitting or putting something on, which is neither too big nor too small
U has a surface for sitting or putting something on—the bigger the surface the better
A real, typical item of furniture	2
A is made of wood
B is made of wood, but also incorporates other materials
U is made of wood—the more wooden bits it has, the better
A real, typical item of furniture	3
A is used inside the house
B is used inside the house, but sometimes outside too
U is used only inside the house, never outside
A real, typical item of furniture	4
A serves a practical purpose
B serves a practical purpose, but also has an aesthetic/artistic component
U serves a practical purpose—the more practical, the better
A real, typical item of furniture	5
A has legs
B has 4 legs
U has legs—the more legs, and/or the higher their prominence, the better

Items: VEGETABLE	Page
A real, typical vegetable	1
A is eaten for dinner
B is eaten dinner, but occasionally as part of other meals too
U is eaten for dinner and never as part of another meal
A real, typical vegetable	2
A is healthy
B is healthy, but not some extremely healthy superfood
U is healthy—the healthier, the better
A real, typical vegetable	3
A is green
B is mainly green, but has some other colours too
U is green—the greener the better
A real, typical vegetable	4
A needs to be cooked before you can eat it
B needs to be cooked before you can eat it, but not too long
U needs to be cooked before you can eat it—the longer the better
A real, typical vegetable	5
A grows on the ground (and not on a tree)
B grows on the ground, but not directly on the ground
U grows on the ground—the closer to the ground, the better

Items: STUDENT	Page
A real, typical student	1
A lives in a student room/dorm
B lives in a student room/dorm, but often returns to his/her parents
U lives in a student room/dorm and spends as little as possible time at his/her parents’
A real, typical student	2
A studies at college or university
B studies at college or university, but isn’t focused on his/her studies 24/7
U studies at college or university—the more time spent on studying, the better
A real, typical student	3
A is intelligent
B is intelligent, but not absurdly intelligent
U is intelligent—the more intelligent, the better
A real, typical student	4
A is young
B is young, but not extremely young
U is young—the younger the better
A real, typical student	5
A has an active social life
B has an active social life, but not outrageously active
U has an active social life—the more active, the better