Documentation

Linglib.Fragments.English.MeasurePhrases

English Measure Phrase Fragment #

@cite{bale-schwarz-2022} @cite{bale-schwarz-2026} @cite{coppock-2021} @cite{scontras-2014} @cite{davidson-1979}

Lexical entries for English measure terms and the preposition per.

This fragment provides the English-specific data layer for measurement:

Architecture #

The Dimension / QuotientDimension / DimensionType taxonomies live in Features/Dimension.lean. The MeasureFn structure and MeasureFn.applyNumeral semantics live in Theories/Semantics/Measurement/Basic.lean. This file provides English lexical entries — pure data typed by those substrate types, following the Theories → Fragments dependency discipline.

A measure term entry: an English noun that names a specific measure function.

This is the Fragment-level data for measure terms. The Theory-level semantics (MeasureFn, MeasureFn.applyNumeral) is in Semantics.Measurement.Basic.

  • form : String

    Surface form (e.g., "gram", "milliliter", "mile").

  • formPlural : String

    Plural form.

  • Which dimension this term measures.

Instances For
    Equations
    • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
    Instances For
      Equations
      Instances For
        Equations
        Instances For
          Equations
          • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
          Instances For

            A quantizing noun entry: an English noun that turns a mass term into a countable expression.

            @cite{scontras-2014} identifies three classes, each with different semantics:

            • Measure terms (kilo, liter): type ⟨n, ⟨e,t⟩⟩, always quantity-uniform. Already covered by MeasureTermEntry above.
            • Container nouns (glass, box, cup): ambiguous between a CONTAINER reading (individuated physical objects, NOT quantity-uniform) and a MEASURE reading (functions as a volume/mass unit, IS quantity-uniform).
            • Atomizers (grain, piece, drop): impose a minimal-part structure on a mass noun, creating countable atoms without naming a measure function.

            The Fragment entry captures the lexical form and class. The semantic distinction (quantity-uniformity, CONTAINER vs MEASURE reading) comes from the Theory types QuantizingNounClass and ContainerReading.

            • form : String

              Surface form (e.g., "glass", "grain").

            • formPlural : String

              Plural form.

            • Which class of quantizing noun.

            • measureDimension : Option Features.Dimension.Dimension

              For container nouns in their MEASURE reading: which dimension they measure. A glass measures volume; a bag might measure volume or mass. Atomizers and pure containers have none.

            • Available readings. Measure terms and atomizers have only one reading; container nouns are ambiguous between CONTAINER and MEASURE.

            Instances For
              Equations
              • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
              Instances For
                Equations
                Instances For

                  "glass" — prototypical container noun (Scontras §3.2).

                  • CONTAINER: "three glasses of water" = three individual glasses containing water
                  • MEASURE: "three glasses of water" = a quantity of water equal to three glass-volumes

                  The CONTAINER reading is NOT quantity-uniform: three glasses ⊕ three glasses ≠ three glasses. The MEASURE reading IS quantity-uniform (like any measure term).

                  Equations
                  • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                  Instances For
                    Equations
                    • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                    Instances For
                      Equations
                      • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                      Instances For
                        Equations
                        • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                        Instances For
                          Equations
                          • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                          Instances For

                            "grain" — atomizer (Scontras §3.3).

                            "three grains of rice" imposes a minimal-part structure on the mass noun "rice". Unlike measure terms, "grain" does not name a standard measure function — it creates contextually-determined atoms.

                            Equations
                            Instances For
                              Equations
                              • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                              Instances For
                                Equations
                                • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                Instances For
                                  Equations
                                  • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                  Instances For

                                    Interpretation mode for per-phrases.

                                    Per exhibits a dual interpretive pattern:

                                    • Compositional: when saturating measure predicates that select for simplex dimensions (weight, distance). The grammar computes meaning via multiplication.
                                    • Math speak: when describing quotient dimensions (density, speed). The phrase verbalizes quantity calculus notation and gets its meaning from extra-grammatical conventions, parallel to mixed quotation.
                                    • compositional : PerInterpretation

                                      Grammatically composed: per interacts with a covert pronoun pro whose value is determined anaphorically (@cite{bale-schwarz-2022}, eq. 16). ⟦per⟧ = λq. λx. μ_{dim(q)}(x) / q The result is a pure number that composes with the measure phrase via multiplication (@cite{bale-schwarz-2026}: multiplication only).

                                    • mathSpeak : PerInterpretation

                                      Math speak: the per-phrase verbalizes a quantity calculus expression. Not derived from the syntactic structure of English.

                                    • idiomatic : PerInterpretation

                                      Non-compositional, idiomatic unit (e.g., "pounds per square inch" = psi). Speakers know the abbreviation without knowing the underlying ratio.

                                    Instances For
                                      Equations
                                      • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                      Instances For
                                        @[implicit_reducible]
                                        Equations

                                        Entry for the preposition per in measure phrases.

                                        • form : String
                                        • interpretations : List PerInterpretation

                                          Per is ambiguous between compositional and math-speak interpretations.

                                        • usesMultiplicationOnly : Bool

                                          Compositional per composes via multiplication only (No Division Hypothesis).

                                        Instances For
                                          Equations
                                          • One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
                                          Instances For
                                            Equations
                                            Instances For

                                              Which interpretation is available depends on the dimension type of the measure predicate. Simplex dimensions license compositional interpretation; quotient dimensions force math speak.

                                              Equations
                                              Instances For

                                                All measure terms have distinct dimensions appropriately assigned.

                                                Atomizers have no measure dimension (they don't name a measure function).

                                                Container nouns all have a measure dimension; atomizers never do.

                                                Compositional per uses multiplication only.

                                                When a verb selects for the same dimension as the per-phrase's unit, the interpretation is compositional.

                                                When the verb selects for a different dimension (or none), the interpretation is math speak.

                                                When no predicate dimension is available, the interpretation is math speak.