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Genericity sans Gen
Author(s) -
Collins John
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
mind and language
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.905
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1468-0017
pISSN - 0268-1064
DOI - 10.1111/mila.12168
Subject(s) - covert , linguistics , property (philosophy) , philosophy , operator (biology) , expression (computer science) , range (aeronautics) , epistemology , computer science , biochemistry , chemistry , materials science , repressor , transcription factor , composite material , gene , programming language
Generics are exception‐admitting generalisations, which find expression in apparently diverse linguistic forms. A standard claim is that there is a hidden linguistic unity to genericity in the form of a covert operator, Gen . This article surveys and rejects a range of considerations that purport to show Gen to be syntactically essential to the explanation of a range of linguistic phenomena connected to genericity. The conclusion reached is that genericity is not a specifically linguistic property insofar as it does not supervene upon any especial linguistic device; rather, genericity supervenes on broader cognitive competencies within linguistic constraints.