Based on a systematic analysis of a very large corpus, this book introduces a conceptual and terminological framework for the linguistic description of abstract nouns. The uses and meanings of 670 abstract English nouns are described and their semantic, pragmatic, rhetorical, textual and cognitive functions are discussed, always with reference to authentic corpus data. This way a link between the corpus method and functional and cognitive theories of language is established. The book includes an appendix giving statistical information on the lexico-grammatical usage of the 670 nouns.
Using nouns correctly in English is relatively simple, with standard rules and only a few exceptions. Use this booklet to learn about the English grammar rules for gender, plurals, countable and uncountable nouns, noun figures, noun cases, compound nouns, determiners, the uses of articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs.
The noun is an apparent cross-linguistic universal; nouns are central targets of language acquisition; they are frequently prototypical exemplars of Saussurian arbitrariness. This volume considers nouns in sign languages and in the evanescent performances of homesigners (and gesturers), which exhibit considerable iconic motivation.
