Countability and measured parts in mixed drink nouns
Abstract
Liquids (oil, wine) are considered to be canonical non-countable nouns. Yet nouns referring to cocktails and coffee drinks (margarita, cappuccino) display strongly countable behavior, which raises questions about the semantics of countability and the relationship between nouns and the things to which they refer. This paper investigates these mixed drink nouns and proposes the source of their countability lies in their possessing a MEASURED PART which provides a unit for individuation.This part, in connection with the ratio relationship between the drink’s ingredient parts, is the source of countability for these nouns.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Syntax
Semantics
Linguistic Variation
Categorization
perception
and language
linguistics and terminology studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Glossa a journal of general linguistics
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 13 March 2026
- Language
- EN