The rise and fall of a minor category

Abstract

Some languages use a special form of the noun, a “numerative”, after some or all numerals. In such languages, a distinct numerative is typically not available for all nouns, but rather only for a small subset, forming a morphological “minor category” (Corbett 2000). We examine how such a system emerges and disintegrates diachronically, looking in detail at Welsh, a language in which a distinct numerative emerged as the result of the phonological attrition of plural suffixes and analogical extension of new plural suffixes to all relevant syntactic environments except after numerals. Nouns with distinct numeratives tend to be animate and to denote units frequently counted, an association previously noted also for minor duals (Plank 1996). We suggest that this association arose in Welsh via differential analogical extension in two directions: animates resisted analogical extension of the pattern numeral + singular noun; and animates were most receptive to extension of the pattern numeral + numerative. We show that the loss of the numerative proceeded the same way in reverse: numeratives were first reanalyzed as special plurals, and this pattern, numeral + plural noun, resisted analogical spread of the dominant numeral + singular pattern most robustly with kinship terms and a unit of time, namely ‘year’. These developments show much commonality with other cases where the diachrony of the numerative is known, confirming the observation that numeratives typically emerge from the disintegration of a major category, such as plural or dual, and that they are diachronically unstable, liable ultimately to analogical elimination.

The development and typology of number suppletion in adjectives

“…Jørgensen (2012) quotes the example diou mer'ch bian "two small girls" with the singular form of the adjective (from the seventeenth century). In the Brittonic languages, numerals above "one" are regularly followed by the noun in the singular (see Nurmio & Willis 2016 for a discussion of Welsh). In Middle Welsh, those adjectives that have plural forms agree in the plural in numeral phrases, but by Modern Welsh the agreement pattern shifts and the adjective has to be singular (Willis 2014).…”

Plural formation in Istro-Romanian numeral quantifier phrases: inflexional calquing from Croatian?

“…Gardani, Arkadiev, & Amiridze (2015: 6). 31 See Nurmio & Willis (2016), who also discuss forms from Irish which Acquaviva (2006Acquaviva ( : 1868Acquaviva ( -1869Acquaviva ( , 2008 See Sims-Williams (1979: 337-346;2019: 955-970). 33 See Akiner (1983), Pugh & Press (1999), Corbettt (20012008) for eastern Slavonic; Scatton (2002) for south-eastern Slavonic; Corbett (1983;1996) and Alexander (2006) for south-western Slavonic.…”

“…Cf. Middle Welsh (Nurmio & Willis 2016), or modern standard Russian (Corbett 2001;2008). depending on the numerals with which they combined.…”