Les noms généraux – 'shell nouns' – participent-ils à une lecture taxinomique de type Hiérarchie-être ?

In the present paper, which extends, on the one hand, a series of studies on general nouns (“shell nouns”, “unspecific nouns”, “signalling nouns”) and, on the other hand, a series of studies on precision and approximation, I intend to take another look at both general nouns and the notions of precision, approximation and vagueness, in order to examine the nature of the relation established between general nouns and the items (noun phrases or larger entities) which they encapsulate compactly. Is this relation hierarchical? Can it be considered as a Be-Hierarchy type of taxonomy? Furthermore, is the relation between a general noun and its context based on its vagueness and its lack of clarity or, on the contrary, can giving it a name or a label be seen as an act of precision arising from a desire to define it?