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A typology of the mass/count distinction in Brazil and its relevance for mass/count theories
Edited by Suzi Lima and Susan Rothstein
[Linguistic Variation 20:2] 2020
► pp. 324–335

Count and mass nouns in Patxohã

| Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacional
| University of Toronto

This paper describes the count/mass distinction in Patxohã, a revitalized language spoken in Bahia and Minas Gerais, Brazil. We observe that only count nouns can be directly combined with numerals and that only count nouns can co-occur with plural determiners. Furthermore, only count nouns can be combined with size adjectives. As for quantifiers, we observe that at least one quantifier in the language (nitxi) can be combined with count and mass nouns, but trigger different interpretations depending on the noun it is combined with. We also discuss the use of container phrases in counting and measuring contexts.

Keywords: Patxohã, count, mass, numerals, quantifiers, adjectives, plural, determiners
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Numerals
  • 3.Plural
  • 4.Quantifiers and adjectives
  • 5.Counting and measuring
  • 6.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 1 October 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/lv.00024.bom
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