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Is plural number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?

Summary

This question concerns regular marking of plural 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 GB044 Is there a productive morphological plural marker on nouns? which focuses on bound marking of plural 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

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 plural number that occurs regularly, code 1.
3. If the grammar describes plural 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

Kare (ISO 639-3: kbn, Glottolog: kare1338)

In Kare, plural number of nouns is marked by a free-standing marker, rì, that follows the noun, as can be seen in the example. Kare is an example of a 1 code.

ɓàì        fǒn   wíe   má     váà  rì 
because.of young woman mother dog  PL
‘because of the young woman, mother of dogs’ (Lim 1997: 209)

French (ISO 639-3: fra, Glottolog: stan1290)

French definite and indefinite articles are free-standing markers (sometimes, they are bound). The articles have different forms in the plural (les ‘DEF.PL’, des ‘INDF.PL’) and the singular (le ‘M.DEF.SG’, la ‘F.DEF.SG’, un ‘M.INDF.SG’, une ‘F.INDF.SG’. French is coded 1.

Further reading

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

References

Lim, François. 1997. Description linguistique du Kare (phonologie-syntaxe). Paris: Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle. (Doctoral dissertation.)

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

• GB316 Is singular number regularly marked in the noun phrase by a phonologically free element?
• GB317 Is dual 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