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Is singular number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?
Summary
This question concerns regular marking of singular number in the noun phrase by a marker that is not bound to the noun, but free-standing. The marker should occur with an open set of nouns, not with a restricted set. This feature contrasts with GB042 Is there a productive overt morphological singular marker on nouns?, which focuses on the bound marking of singular 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.
Procedure
- Consider the section in the grammar that deals with number or with noun phrases.
- If the author describes an overt free-standing marker of singular number that occurs regularly, code 1.
- If the grammar describes singular number as not marked productively or as only expressed with a bound marker, code 0.
- 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 ?.
- If the grammar does not describe number, you encounter no examples of number marking, and the grammar is otherwise comprehensive, code 0.
Examples
Samoan (ISO 639-3: smo, Glottolog: samo1305)
Number in Samoan is regularly expressed by a free-standing element that fuses specificity and number. It is labeled "article". Samoan is an example of 1-coding for GB316. The articles of Samoan can be illustrated with the word fale ‘house’:
(Mosel & Hovdhaugen 1992: 90)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| specific | le fale | fale |
| non-specific | se fale | ni fale |
Further reading
Corbett, Greville G. 2000. Number. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
References
Mosel, Ulrike & Even Hovdhaugen. 1992. Samoan reference grammar. Oslo: The Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture and Scandinavian University Press.
Related Features
Morphological number marking
- GB042 Is there a productive overt morphological singular marker on nouns?
- GB043 Is there a productive morphological dual marker on nouns?
- GB044 Is there a productive morphological plural marker on nouns?
- GB165 Is there a productive morphological trial marker on nouns?
- GB166 Is there a productive morphological paucal marker on nouns?
Phonologically free number marking
- GB317 Is dual number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?
- GB318 Is plural number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?
- GB319 Is trial number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?
- GB320 Is paucal number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?
Number agreement within the noun phrase
- GB184 Can an adnominal property word agree with the noun in number?
- GB185 Can an adnominal demonstrative agree with the noun in number?
Other
- GB041 Are there several nouns (more than three) which are suppletive for number?
- GB039 Is there nonphonological allomorphy of noun number markers?
- GB046 Is there an associative plural marker for nouns?
Patron
Hedvig Skirgård