09:0109:01, 10 February 2024diffhist+1,275
Wikipedia:Proper names and proper nouns
→Divergent themes concerning proper names, in linguistics and philosophy: Detailed editing of the portion beginning "A proper name in philosophy in philosophy ...", for greatly enhanced accuracy; it's not yet perfect in its theoretical bearings by any means, but considerably better-grounded in what philosophers of language actually think and say; added a reference to "Names" in the Stanford Encyclopedia, an authoritative and comparatively accessible introduction to the relevant issues.
06:1406:14, 3 February 2024diffhist+123
Noun
→Noun phrases: That was a fine edit (apart from the ridiculous edit summary); this simplification makes things easier for most readers, and more detail should be added at the article Noun phrase; see talk for discussion; I have now made changes in explanation and mark-up of the examples. ►³Tag: Reverted
22:1322:13, 2 February 2024diffhist−6
Noun
Undid revision 1202320189 by Kent Dominic (talk). See talk for detailed reasoning, showing an excerpt from the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language; in brief, both the subject and the object are "arguments of the predicate" (as articles linked here make clear), so the punctuation and other details in this sentence should not give the wrong impression that only the object is such an argument. (☺!)Tag: Undo
07:3107:31, 2 February 2024diffhist+2
Noun
→Noun phrases: The previous editor still hasn't grasped what he himself wikilinked – though I even QUOTED one (of several) relevant portions in an edit summary. Once more, class: according to that article, and other sources that could readily be adduced, both the SUBJECT and the OBJECT are included among arguments of the predicate. That's why the detailing that I now restore is exactly correct (retaining "a", "an" ☺). READ the article, check Huddleston and Pullum (Chapter 4), think. ┬┬┬┬┬┬┬┬
05:1905:19, 2 February 2024diffhist+9
Noun
Reverting what was not a "simple tweak" at all: at the very link supplied (to Argument_(linguistics)#Arguments_and_adjuncts) we find this text: "The subject phrase and object phrase are the two most frequently occurring arguments of verbal predicates ... Jill likes Jack. ... Jill, for example, is the subject argument of the predicate likes, and Jack is its object argument." Read, learn, think, learn surprising new facts, be corrected, think again, edit; repeat as needed ... then ... STOP! ■ ■ ■Tag: Undo
23:0023:00, 1 February 2024diffhist+896
Noun
→Noun phrases: Rigour as opposed to ill-informed partisan rejection of perfectly mainstream terminology; to promote catholicity I have retained all the same links but sequestered controversial details in a note, including detailed referencing of CGEL – the current dominant grammar of the English language, linguistically informed and universally respected. Editors: only make alterations here if you REALLY know what you're doing; these are core linguistics articles, not jousting arenas. ■☺
11:0011:00, 1 February 2024diffhist+74
Noun
→Noun phrases: Edited to nullify unschooled objections. Note that "become", like "be" and several other verbs, does indeed take a (non-object, or predicative) complement – which is generally either an NP or an AP. Google is your friend here, readily delivering hits like this from learnèd works: https://books.google.com/books?id=ZR6yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA619&dq="complement+of+become+must+be+either+AP+or+NP" . Best not to assume that you ar the sole repository of knowledge: a hard lesson, for some. ←↕Tag: Reverted
04:5404:54, 1 February 2024diffhist+54
Noun
→Alienable vs. inalienable nouns: Added this at the start: "Illustrating the wide range of possible classifying principles for nouns, ..."; this is desirable because it's just one of many classifying principles, and the reader should be informed that those too are "out there"; some adjustments, following that addition.
04:4604:46, 1 February 2024diffhist+44
Noun
→Noun phrases: Reworked this strangely contested paragraph: completeness (yes, if we give an example with NP complement of a verb – as we should – it's best to list that among the roles of an NP); efficient and strictly accurate wording throughout; suitable qualification where anything considered too recherché must be omitted ("usually", because someone may be squeamish about NP as head of an NP, etc.); tightly worded and tidily presented examples that cover all of the roles listed. ◘○○◘○○◘
06:1806:18, 31 January 2024diffhist+629
Noun
Restored accurate, informative, exquisitely expressed, authoritatively referenced assertion that is quite understandable for the reader on a quest for information; such accuracy and completeness, far from amounting to "obfuscating/superfluous qualification", is exactly the sort of precision that this encyclopedia aims for; the mere fact that some editors may not have previously encountered a highly relevant linguistic fact is no excuse for an unthinking reversion; think again – but carefully ♥.
21:3021:30, 30 January 2024diffhist+217
Wikipedia:Proper names and proper nouns
Improving summary material at the top of this essay: accuracy, completeness, clarity – and less controversial relevance to the practice of editors in writing, editing, and discussing changes on Wikipedia. Also, a neutral, non-polemical, less weirdly wrong-assed heading: == Divergent themes concerning proper names, in linguistics and philosophy ==
20:5520:55, 30 January 2024diffhist+339
Noun phrase
Adding the fact that an NP can sometimes have another NP as its head, supported by a reference to CGEL; light copyediting of the lead, for completeness, clarity, and accuracy ☺.
20:2320:23, 30 January 2024diffhist+221
Noun
→Noun phrases: An addition concerning what can serve as the head of a noun phrase, with a reference to CGEL (where an example is given of an NP as head of an NP); some light copyediting of the paragraph to improve the example (now "The black cat sat near a dear friend of mine", not "on"), and to qualify a statement about the functions of noun phrases (with "usually"); NPs serve in other roles also and can even occur isolated, for example in "Ladies and gentleman, Mr Frank Sinatra!" ☺.