When interrogatives are used to question quantity, are different interrogative forms used to quantify count nouns and mass nouns? For example, English contrasts how many for count nouns (as in, how many apples?) and how much for mass nouns (as in, how much sand?). Languages that have at least one form that means either ‘how much' (of a mass noun) or ‘how many' (of a count noun), but not the alternative, are considered to have a count/mass distinction in interrogative quantifiers. Languages in which any interrogative quantifiers can be used interchangeably with both count and mass nouns do not have the relevant distinction.
Woods Cree (ISO 639-3: cwd, Glottolog: wood1236)
Woods Cree has separate content question words for the meanings ‘how much’ and ‘how many’ that are used with mass and count nouns respectively.
tâniδikoh(k) tân+iδikohk Q+so.far/long ‘how much’ (Starks 1992: 165) tântahto tân+tahto Q+many ‘how many’ (Starks 1992: 165)
Woods Cree is coded 1.
Maricopa (ISO 639-3: mrc, Glottolog: mari1440)
A construction involving the verb lyvii-k and the interrogative prefix ka- is used in Maricopa to express both the meaning ‘how many’ (of a count noun) and ‘how much’ (of a mass noun).
m-naw-sh ka-lyvii-m m-wii-m 2-friend-SBJ Q-be.like-DS 2-do-Q.REAL ‘How many friends do you have?’ (Gordon 1986: 205) shiyaal ka-lyvii-m m-wii-m money Q-be.like-DS 2-do-Q.REAL ‘How much money do you have?’ (Gordon 1986: 205)
Maricopa is coded 0.
Gil, David. 1982. Distributive numerals. Los Angeles: University of California. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Gordon, Lynn. 1986. Maricopa morphology and syntax. (University of California Publications in Linguistics, 108.) Berkeley: University of California Press.
Starks, Donna Joy. 1992. Aspects of Woods Cree syntax. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba. (Doctoral dissertation.
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0 | absent | 1099 | |
1 | present | 240 | |
? | Not known | 789 |
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