Cover not available
Part of
Weak Referentiality
Edited by Ana Aguilar-Guevara, Bert Le Bruyn and Joost Zwarts
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 219] 2014
► pp. 157–182

Many a plural

The aim of the present paper is to contribute to the literature on plurals by showing that, cross-linguistically, not all plurals are unmarked semantically. Focusing on Arabic, where the plural comes in many guises, and proposing different syntactic positions for its different manifestations, I show that, while classifying plurals (broken and sound plurals) allow an inclusive reading ( one or more ), counting plurals (plural of the singulative and double plurals) do not: they tolerate only exclusive readings ( more than one ). I then show that classifying plurals in Arabic allow inclusive readings in environments that favour number neutrality (modals, negation, etc.) and argue that, in these contexts, plurals denote kinds (in the sense of Carlson 1977 and following Grimm 2013 for English plurals). Such plural nominals do not presuppose the existence of any particular referents: they are weakly referential and that is why they allow inclusive readings.

Published online: 3 December 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.219.07mat
References
Abdel-Massih, E., Abdel-Malek, Z.N., Badawi, E. M. & McCarus, E.N
1979 A Reference Grammar of Egyptian Arabic. Ann Arbor MI: Center for Near Eastern and North African Studies.Google Scholar
Acquaviva, P
2008 Lexical Plurals: A Morphosemantic Approach. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Anand, P., Andrews, C., Farkas, D. & Wagers, M
2011 The exclusive interpretation of plural nominals in quantificational environments. Proceedings of SALT 21:176–196.Google Scholar
Bale, A., Gagnon, M. & Khanjian, H
2011 On the relationship between morphological and semantic markedness: The case of plural morphology. Morphology 21:197–221. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Borer, H
2005 In Name Only: Structuring Sense, Vol.1. Oxford: OUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carlson, G
1977 Reference to Kinds in English. PhD dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
2003 No lack of determination. In The Second Glot International State-of-the-article Book: The Latest in linguistics, L. Cheng & R. Sybesma (eds), 149–178. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Corbett, G.G
2000 Number. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Swart, H. & Zwarts, J
2010 Less form - more meaning: Why bare singular nouns are special. Lingua 119: 280–295 DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Doetjes, J
1997 Quantifiers and Selection: On the Distribution of Quantifying Expressions in French, Dutch and English [HIL dissertations]. The Hague: HAG.Google Scholar
Erwin, W.M
1963 A Short Reference Grammar of Iraqi Arabic [Arabic series]. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Farkas, D. & de Swart, H
2010 The semantics and pragmatics of plurals. Semantics and Pragmatics 3: 1–54. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fassi Fehri, A
2003 Nominal classes and parameters across interfaces and levels, with a particular reference to Arabic. In Linguistic Research. Rabat: IERA Publications.Google Scholar
2012 Key Features and Parameters in Arabic Grammar [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 182]. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Giannakidou, A
2006 Only, emotive factive verbs, and the dual nature of polarity dependency. Language 82: 575–603. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gil, D
1996 Maltese 'collective nouns': A typological perspective. Rivista di Linguistica 8: 53–87.Google Scholar
Greenberg, J.H
1966 Language Universals, With Special Reference to Feature Hierarchies [Janua Linguarum Series Minor]. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
1972 Numeral classifiers and substantival number: Problems in the genesis of a linguistic type. Working Papers on Language Universals 9: 2–39.Google Scholar
Grimm, S
2012 Individuation and inverse number marking in Dagaare In Count and Mass across Languages, D. Massam (ed), 75–98. Oxford: OUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2013 Plurality is distinct from number-neutrality. In Proceedings of the 41st Meeting of the North East Linguistic Society, L. Fainleib, N. LaCara & Y. Park (eds). Amherst MA: GLSA.Google Scholar
Harrell, R
1962 A Short Reference Grammar of Moroccan Arabic. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Heim, I
1991 Artikel und Definitheit. In Semantik: Ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenössischen Forschung, A. von Stechow & D. Wunderlich (eds), 487–535. Berlin: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Holes, C
1990 Gulf Arabic [Croom Helm Descriptive Grammars]. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kihm, A
2003 Les pluriels de l'arabe: Systèmes et conséquences pour l'architecture de la grammaire. Recherches Linguistique de Vincennes 32:109–156. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kramer, R
2012 A split analysis of plurality: Evidence from Amharic. Proceedings of WCCFL 30: 226–236.Google Scholar
Krifka, M
1989 Nominal reference, temporal constitution and quantification in event semantics. In Semantics and Contextual Expression, R. Bartsch, J. van Benthem & P. van Emde Boas (eds), 75–115. Dordrecht: Foris.Google Scholar
Lecarme, J
2002 Gender 'polarity': Theoretical aspects of Somali nominal morphology. In Many Morphologies, P. Boucher & M. Plénat (eds), 109–141. Somerville MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Link, G
1983 The logical analysis of plural and mass nouns: A lattice-theoretic approach. In Meaning, Use and Interpretation of Language, R. Bäuerle, C. Schwarze & A. von Stechow (eds), 302–323. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Longobardi, G
1994 Reference and proper names: A theory of N movement in syntax and logical form. Linguistic Inquiry 25: 609–665.Google Scholar
Lowenstamm, J
2008 On n, nP and √. In The Sounds of Silence: Empty Elements in Syntax and Phonology, J. Hartmann, V. Hegedus & H. van Riemsdijk (eds), 105–144. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Mathieu, E
2009 On the mass/count distinction in Ojibwe: Paper presented at Mass/count workshop, organized by Diane Massam, University of Toronto, February 7-8.
2012a Flavors of division. Linguistic Inquiry 43: 650–679. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012b The mass/count distinction in Ojibwe. In Count and Mass across Languages, D. Massam (ed.), 172–198. Oxford: OUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCawley, J
1968 Review of Current Trends in Linguistics 3. Language 44: 556–593. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1981 Everything that Linguists have Always Wanted to Know about Logic (But were Ashamed to Ask). Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Mifsud, M
1996 The collective in Maltese. Rivista di Linguistica 8: 29–51.Google Scholar
Mufwene, S
1980 Number, countability, and markedness in Lingala LI/MA- noun class. Linguistics 18: 1019–1052. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ojeda, A
1992 The semantics of number in Arabic. In SALT II: Proceedings of the Second Conference on Semantics and Linguistic Theory, C. Barker & D. Dowty (eds), 303–325. Columbus OH: Ohio State University.Google Scholar
Quirk, R., Greenbaugh, S., Leech, G. & Svartvik, J
1985 A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Ritter, E
1991 Two functional categories in noun phrases: evidence from Modern Hebrew. In Syntax and Semantics, Vol. 25: Perspective on Phrase Structure, S. Rothstein (ed.), 37–62. New York NY: Academic Press.Google Scholar
1993 Where's gender? Linguistic Inquiry 24: 795–803.Google Scholar
Ritter, E. & Wiltschko, M
2009 Varieties of Infl: Tense, location, and person. In Alternatives to Cartography, J. Craenenbroeck (ed.), 153–202. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roberts, C
1986 Modal Subordination, Anaphora and Distributivity. PhD dissertation, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Sanches, M & Slobin, L
1973 Numeral classifiers and plural marking: An implicational universal. Working papers in language universals (Stanford University) 11: 1–22.Google Scholar
Sauerland, U
2003 A new semantics for number. In Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory SALT 13, R. Young & Y. Zhou (eds), 258–275. Ithaca NY: CLC publications.Google Scholar
Sauerland, U., Andersen, J. & Yatsushiro, K
2005 The plural is semantically unmarked. In Linguistic Evidence, S. Kepser & M. Reis (eds), 413–434. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spector, B
2007 Aspects of the pragmatics of plural morphology: On higher-order implicatures. In Presuppositions and Implicatures in Compositional Semantics, U. Sauerland & P. Stateva (eds), 243–281. Houndmills: Palgrave-Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Talmoudi, F
1980 The Arabic dialect of Sûsa (Tunisia). Göteborg: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis.Google Scholar
van Rooij, R
2004 Signalling games select Horn strategies. Linguistics and Philosophy 27: 493–527. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wiltschko, M
2008 The syntax of non-inflectional plural marking. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 26: 639–694. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wright, W
1963 A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. 1. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Zabbal, Y
2002 The semantics of number in the Arabic noun phrase. University of Calgary.
Zimmermann, T.E
2006 Monotonicity in opaque verbs. Linguistics and Philosophy 29:7 15–761.Google Scholar
Zweig, E
2009 Number-neutral bare plurals and the multiplicity implicature. Linguistics and Philosophy 32: 353–407. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 47 other publications

Al-Zahre, Nisrine
2021. Dual in Standard and Syrian Arabic. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 407 ff. DOI logo
Alexiadou, Artemis
2019. Morphological and semantic markedness revisited: The realization of plurality across languages. Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft 38:1 ► pp. 123 ff. DOI logo
Alexiadou, Artemis
2021. Lexical Plurals. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 242 ff. DOI logo
Arka, I Wayan
2021. Number in Marori. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 661 ff. DOI logo
Arka, I Wayan & Mary Dalrymple
2021. Number in Balinese. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 682 ff. DOI logo
Bale, Alan
2021. Number and the Mass–Count Distinction. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 40 ff. DOI logo
Beck, Sigrid
2021. Multiple Events and ‘N Preposition N’. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 342 ff. DOI logo
Biedermann, Britta, Nora Fieder & Karen Smith-Lock
2021. Nominal Number and Language Pathologies. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 291 ff. DOI logo
Butler, Lindsay
2021. Non-inflectional plural in Yucatec Maya. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 485 ff. DOI logo
Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia
2021. Verbal Plurality Cross-Linguistically. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 307 ff. DOI logo
Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia
2021. Nominal Number Morphology. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 135 ff. DOI logo
Patricia Cabredo Hofherr & Jenny Doetjes
2021. The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, DOI logo
Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia & Jenny Doetjes
2021. Introduction. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Cheung, Pierina
2021. Individuation. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 101 ff. DOI logo
Cyrino, Sonia & M.Teresa Espinal
2020. On the Syntax of Number in Romance. Studia Linguistica 74:1 ► pp. 165 ff. DOI logo
Cyrino, Sonia M. L. & M. Teresa Espinal
2020. Number as an adjunct in Romance. In Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 16 [Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory, 16], ► pp. 78 ff. DOI logo
Dali, Myriam & Eric Mathieu
2021. Singulative Systems. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 275 ff. DOI logo
Dali, Myriam & Éric Mathieu
2016. Les pluriels internes féminins de l’arabe tunisien. Lingvisticae Investigationes 39:2 ► pp. 253 ff. DOI logo
de Swart, Henriëtte
2021. Bare Nouns and Number. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 197 ff. DOI logo
de Vries, Hanna
2021. Collective Nouns. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 257 ff. DOI logo
Doetjes, Jenny
2021. Number and Numeral Classifiers. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 220 ff. DOI logo
Doetjes, Jenny
2021. Number and Quantity Expressions. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 65 ff. DOI logo
Dotlačil, Jakub
2021. Semantic Approaches to Number. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 15 ff. DOI logo
Farkas, Donka F.
2021. Multiple Event Readings with Dependent Indefinites. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 381 ff. DOI logo
Ferreira, Marcelo
2021. Bare nominals and number in Brazilian Portuguese. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 497 ff. DOI logo
Gehrke, Berit
2021. Multiple Event Readings andOccasional-Type Adjectives. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 362 ff. DOI logo
Ghomeshi, Jila & Diane Massam
2020. Number is Different in Nominal and Pronominal Phrases. Linguistic Inquiry 51:3 ► pp. 597 ff. DOI logo
Grimm, Scott
2021. Inverse number in Dagaare. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 445 ff. DOI logo
Henderson, Robert
2021. Dependent Numerals in Kaqchikel. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 627 ff. DOI logo
Jaradat, Abdulazeez
2023. Branching lexical plural into greater and paucal. Cogent Arts & Humanities 10:1 DOI logo
Jaradat, Abdulazeez
2023. When a Dual Marker Acts as a Paucal Marker: The Case of the Dual -e:n in Northern Rural Jordanian Arabic. Languages 8:3 ► pp. 183 ff. DOI logo
Jaradat, Abdulazeez & Marwan Jarrah
2022. The syntax of plurals of collective and mass nouns: Views from Jordanian Arabic. Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 58:3 ► pp. 509 ff. DOI logo
Jarrah, Marwan, Jaradat Abdulazeez & Linda Alkhawaja
2022. The position of the broken plural in the grammar: Rural Jordanian Arabic as a case study. Lingua 265 ► pp. 103165 ff. DOI logo
Lima, Suzi
2021. Production and comprehension studies on the mass–count distinction in Yudja. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 583 ff. DOI logo
Marten, Lutz
2021. Noun Classes and Plurality in Bantu Languages. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 539 ff. DOI logo
Marušič, Franc & Rok Žaucer
2021. Dual in Slovenian. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 428 ff. DOI logo
Mathieu, Eric & Gita Zareikar
2015. Measure words, plurality, and cross-linguistic variation. Linguistic Variation 15:2 ► pp. 169 ff. DOI logo
Mous, Maarten
2021. Nominal number in Cushitic. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 522 ff. DOI logo
Paul, Moles, Anne Zribi-Hertz & Herby Glaude
2021. Countability and Number Without Number Inflection. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 558 ff. DOI logo
Pfau, Roland & Markus Steinbach
2021. Number in Sign Languages. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 644 ff. DOI logo
Schiller, Niels O. & Rinus Verdonschot
2021. Number in the Mental Lexicon. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 112 ff. DOI logo
Tomioka, Satoshi
2021. Japanese -tatiand generalized associative plurals. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 463 ff. DOI logo
Wiltschko, Martina
2021. The Syntax of Number Markers. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 164 ff. DOI logo
Zimmermann, Malte
2021. Verbal Number in Chadic, with Special Reference to Hausa. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. 597 ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2021. Copyright Page. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. iv ff. DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2021. A Theory of Distributed Number [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 269], DOI logo
[no author supplied]
2021. List of Abbreviations. In The Oxford Handbook of Grammatical Number, ► pp. viii ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.