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vuw.ac.nz>Words denoting temporally non-contiguous events In a recent query to LINGUIST I cited Chomsky's +Aspects+ (p. 29) on the items denoted by words fulfilling a condition of spatio-temporal contiguity, and asked for words that failed to meet the temporal part of such a condition. Many thanks to all those who responded -- the list has worked again! I provide a list of respondents at the end. Several different types of word were suggested, and I'll go from those which I personally found least convincing to those I found most convincing. The ordering is thus purely subjective. Other examples of spatial non-contiguity Several people gave further examples of lack of spatial contiguity, including France (with overseas territories), "There are a couple of former Soviet republics that include areas separated by other republics. Azerbaijan consists of Azerbaijan proper plus the Nakhichevan Oblast, which is to the west of Armenia (with which Azerbaijan is effectively at war). And Russia itself (technically the Russian Federation, so not a single word as you asked for) consists of the bulk of Russia plus the Kaliningrad Oblast, which is to the west of Lithuania. These were the borders in postwar Soviet times too, so the only difference is that now there are separate countries, not just union republics separating these areas." (Peter Michalove), Germany (with the Polish corridor), Pakistan (East and West) [I particularly like that example], "As you pointed out, place names can refer to spatially noncontiguous entities such as archipelagos (e.g., the Phillipines). Other examples are corporations (Xerox), political parties (the Tories), religious groups (the Anglicans), and so on." (Bill Turkel). He could have added the word +archipelago+ itself. Recurrent events Many people suggested days of the week and holidays, such as Christmas. I guess we're thinking about sentences such as [1] On Sunday I always go sailing. [2] We spend Christmas at the beach ((which makes perfect sense in the southern hemisphere!!)). Here I think we have what is in effect a covert plurality, which is why I am not necessarily convinced by such examples. Plurality seems to overcome the requirement for spatio-temporal contiguity as long as there is some kind of thematic unity. Some suggested that people seen in different roles are also similarly non-temporally-contiguous (are you a mother or a father when your children are not there?). My feeling is that you are a parent even when you are not acting as one. So again I am not totally convinced. There are other kinds of recurrent even, the most subtle of which I was offered was +the Perseid meteor shower+. Or "Another example is menstruation, personified and named by some women (see, e.g., V L Ernster 1975, American menstrual expressions, Sex Roles 1:1-13). In each case, the thing that is named has neither a spatial nor a temporal contiguity." (Bill Turkel). Wind names like +the Foehn+ might also be taken as consecutive iterations of the same type, though we do say [3] The Foehn is blowing again. and not [4] There's another Foehn blowing. Waruno Mahdi points out that plurality overcomes the need for spatial or temporal contiguity (cf. +The United States+), but continues "All these types of denotates can also be observed to have names in the singular, in which case they nonetheless remain being non-contiguous, e.g. "The Bismarck Archipelago", "Japan", "Big Dipper", "Milky Way" (consists of myriads of stars), "Golden Gate Quartet", "Metropolitan Symphonic Orchestra", "Grand Old Party", "The David Letterman Show"(is interrupted by commercials), etc.". The last of these is temporally non-contiguous, and is very relevant. Poland "As regards another example of a name that is not contiguous in the temporal sense, we thought of the state of Poland that has known several periods of non-existence in the last ten centuries. In a Jurassic Park scenario, the (genus) _dinosaur_ is an example of a noncontiguous noun: first it existed, than it was extinct, and then it existed again. And how about _game_ and comparable words? During the interval there is arguably not a game." (Ton van der Wouden). Various other people also suggested Poland. "Another possible example of temporal discontinuity would be a Tibetan or Mongolian Buddhist spiritual leader believed to be reincarnated, after a while, as his successor, e.g., the Dalai Lama, who/which must have experienced some discontinuities. The (Catholic) Pope is similar, though it is only an office, and one might argue that each pope is considered a distinct individual from the previous, and not simply a holder of a not-quite continuous office." (John E. Koontz) The Reign of Henry VI "_The reign of Henry VI_ (1422-60 and 1470) - and any comparably restored government" (Richard Coates). This is the kind of example I had expected to find, but had failed to get on my own. ""Han dynasty" or "Tang dynasty" are "words" in Chinese, especially they may be referred to as just Han or Tang." Each was apparently interrupted by other dynasties. (Chilin Shih). On a more mundane level, there's the +40-hour week+ (Dick Hudson). Course My favourite example (thanks to Oesten Dahl) is +course+, as in [5] I gave a course of lectures where there is a temporal gap between each lecture. Equivalently [6] You have to undergo treatment [a course of treatment?] where there are long periods in which you are not being actively treated. Another similar example (though a compound word) suggested by Larry Trask is +sex-life+. Surely no-one has a continuous sex-life! The final blow Chomsky, in the passage cited, refers to the impossibility of a the four limbs of an animal having a single name. Geoff Sampson replies: "The closest I got to his allegedly impossible case of a singular noun for the four legs of a dog was the French noun "rouage" for the (four or whatever) road wheels of a vehicle -- a pretty close match, I thought." I agree. Respondents: ellenMail to author|Respond to list|Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue