ABSTRACT Almost all semantic investigation of generic sentences in natural language (e.g. "Cats chase mice", "Snow is white") examines languages which, like English, do not have a systematic, explicit formal means of marking generic vs. non-generic interpretations. However, a good many natural languages do have such means, almost always as morphology associated with the verbal system (such as an affix on the main verb, or an auxilliary). But very little is presently known about how generics are expressed, and especially about the territory of meaning that overt generic marking encompasses. In part, this is because linguists do not have a standard methodology for classifying generics; but more importantly, no extensive investigations limited to the phenomenon of genericity itself have been undertaken. It is the purpose of this project to investigate in detail the ways genericity is expressed in natural language, and the possible range of meanings that may be so expressed through examination of grammars, use of questionnaires, and direct work with speakers of relevant languages. The most immediate consequence of this research is to provide a linguistic basis for a comprehensive theory of generics, with direct implications for theories of the relationship between semantics and morphology.
