ABSTRACT
Natural languages have developed multiple ways of talking about collectivity. Many languages contain plural nouns (such as “we” and “the students”), singular collective nouns (such as “the team,” “the committee,”) collective action verbs (such as “cooperate” and “gather”). The study of the semantics of these expressions has significance for the broader study of collective intentionality. It has implications for social ontology, in that it can reveal that our ordinary discourse is committed to certain social entities. This can in turn have ramifications for theories of specific aspects of collective intentionality insofar as they embrace or make a point of eschewing such commitments.
