groupdenoting

Groupdenoting is a term used in semantics to describe linguistic expressions whose primary reference is a group or collectivity rather than individual members. The label covers classic collective nouns such as committee, team, jury, and audience, as well as noun phrases that designate a unit formed by several individuals.

Semantically, groupdenoting expressions are typically treated as unitary referents that can act as wholes. They often allow predicates that target the group as a single entity (The committee has reached a decision) and, in some contexts or languages, distributive readings in which members act separately (The committee have differing opinions). Morphology frequently aligns with a unitary reading, with singular agreement when the group is regarded as a single entity, though some dialects exhibit plural agreement (the team are wearing their jackets).

Groupdenoting nouns interact with determiners and quantifiers in distinctive ways. They can take definite determiners (the committee) and indefinite ones (a panel). They contrast with mass nouns and with ordinary plural nouns that denote multiple individuals. The study of groupdenoting expressions is relevant to theories of collectivity, distributivity, and the syntax-semantics interface.

Examples: The committee has issued a report. The committees have issued separate reports. The jury is deliberating. The juries are deliberating in contexts where each is considered separately.

See also: collective noun, collective reading, distributivity, mass noun.