Feature GB320: Is paucal number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a dedicated phonologically free element?

Patrons: Hedvig Skirgård

Description ⇫

Summary

This question concerns regular marking of paucal number in the noun phrase by a marker that is not bound to the noun but free-standing. This marker should occur with an open set of nouns, not with a restricted set. This feature contrasts with GB166 Is there a productive morphological paucal marker on nouns?) which focuses on bound marking of paucal number. For more on wordhood and bound marking, please see this page.

Number marking is often fused with marking of other categories, such as definiteness/specificity or gender/noun class. It is possible for the number marker to also signal other functions and still be coded as 1, as long as these other functions do not interfere with the number distinctions and as long as number marking is productive and regular.

It can be difficult to determine how obligatory markers of dual, trial and paucal number are since they can often be replaced by plural number marking. If the grammar writers describe the marker as denoting grammatical number and there are several examples, this suffices.

Procedure

  1. Consider the section in the grammar that deals with number or noun phrases.
  2. If the author describes an overt free-standing marker of paucal number that occurs regularly, code 1.
  3. If the grammar describes paucal number as not marked productively or as only expressed with a bound marker, code as 0.
  4. If the grammar does not describe number marking at all and you have a reason to believe that the author may have missed it, code ?.
  5. If the grammar does not describe number, you encounter no examples of number marking, and the grammar is otherwise comprehensive, code 0.

Examples

Iaai (ISO 639-3: iai, Glottolog: iaai1238)

In Iaai, number is marked on articles and there is a paucal distinction. Iaai is coded as 1 for GB320.

Lynch (2000: 870)

"Articles mark the following contrasts_ [..] specific number: singular (zero), dual (li), paucal/plural (jee)"

SG DU PAU PL
definite li jee ta, ta jee
indefinite ke ke li ke jee ke ta jee

Further reading

Corbett, Greville G. 2000. Number. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References

Lynch, John. 2002. Iaai. In John Lynch, Malcolm Ross & Terry Crowley (eds), The Oceanic Languages, 776-791. Richmond: Curzon.

Morphological number marking

Phonologically free number marking

Number agreement within the noun phrase

Other


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Values ⇫

Name Glottocode Family Macroarea Contributor Value Source Comment