37.542, Books: This is the Thing: Fortescue (2026)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-37-542. Tue Feb 10 2026. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 37.542, Books: This is the Thing: Fortescue (2026)

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Date: 03-Feb-2026
From: Karin Plijnaar [karin.plijnaar at benjamins.nl]
Subject: This is the Thing: Fortescue (2026)


Title: This is the Thing
Subtitle: A cognitive/typological investigation into the concept of
‘thinghood’
Series Title: Human Cognitive Processing   79
Publication Year: 2026

Publisher: John Benjamins
           http://www.benjamins.com/
Book URL: https://benjamins.com/catalog/hcp.79

Author(s): Michael Fortescue

eBook ISBN:  9789027244277 Pages:  230 Price: Europe EURO 120.00
eBook ISBN:  9789027244277 Pages:  230 Price: U.K. £ 101.00
eBook ISBN:  9789027244277 Pages:  230 Price: U.S. $ 156.00
Hardback ISBN:  9789027231987 Pages:  230 Price: Europe EURO 120.00
Hardback ISBN:  9789027231987 Pages:  230 Price: Europe EURO 127.20
Hardback ISBN:  9789027231987 Pages:  230 Price: U.K. £ 101.00
Hardback ISBN:  9789027231987 Pages:  230 Price: U.S. $ 156.00

Abstract:

This monograph investigates for the first time words like ‘thing’ of
maximal semantic generality across languages. Not all languages have
exact equivalents of English ‘thing’ – in some, for instance, the
nearest equivalent is an interrogative stem (‘what?’). Few languages
extend their ‘thing’ words into indefinite ‘something’, ‘anything’,
‘nothing’, as in English. As regards Indo-European languages, Buck
(1988) points out that such words typically derive from a more
abstract source than that of simple material objects. In the case of
‘thing’, the earliest source usually given is the Germanic word for a
‘judicial assembly’. How does such a word develop the most general
sense of ‘thing’ today? Do all languages follow this kind of pattern?
These questions lead into an investigation of the concept of ‘thing’
in a wide range of contexts and in a wide variety of languages,
involving both typological and cognitive aspects. The results have
sometimes been unexpected.
Buck, C. D. 1988. A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal
Indo -European Languages. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Written In: English (eng)



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