Chapter 34: Adnominal distributive numerals

Feature information for this chapter can be found in feature 34.

1. Feature description

Distributive numerals are special adnominal numerals that express distributive relations, as in German je drei in the sentence Die Männer trugen je drei Koffer. ‘The men carried three suitcases each.’ English lacks distributive numerals, because in a sentence like They carried three suitcases each, the numeral three does not form a continuous expression with the distributive word each, i.e. three...each does not qualify as a numeral.

Since the dividing line between distributive numerals and quantifiers is not always clear-cut, especially regarding ‘one’, examples with reduplicated adnominal numerals meaning ‘one by one’ or ‘every’ are also taken into account (see example 8).

This feature corresponds partially to WALS feature 54 (Gil 2005a). For reduplication in pidgins, creoles, and other contact languages, see also Kouwenberg (2003).

2. The values

We distinguish the following two values:

exclshrdall
Distributivity marked by reduplication20020
No special adjacent distributive numerals50050
Representation:70

Value 1 (distributivity marked by reduplication) occurs in six Portuguese-based languages, in ten English-based languages, in Mauritian Creole, in Sango, in Fanakalo, and in Ambon Malay. The reduplication is generally total, but partial reduplication is found occasionally. The following examples illustrate partial reduplication:

(1)
Ê
3sg
da
give
dôsu
two
ngê
person
tlê-tlêxi
three-three
fluta.
breadfruit
He gave two people three breadfruits each.
(2)
Tud
every
di
day
vay
go.npst
da
give.inf
trĩ-trĩt
thirty-thirty
rupi.
rupee
Every day I give them thirty rupees each.

In the following examples, the reduplication of the numeral is total:

(3)
Ka
pst
put
taya
slice
kôôndja
coconut
lêtu
inside
fia
leaf
e
dem
ki
with
ũa
one
ũa
one
taminha
bowl
e.
dem
They put slices of coconut in the [banana] leaves, [which were at the bottom of] every bowl.
(4)
Draiva
driver
bin
pst
tek
take
dehm
3pl
foh
for
wan
one
wan
one
hohndred.
hundred
The driver took them for a hundred francs each.
(5)
Dèm
3pl
get
have
tre
three
tre
three
pìkín.
child
They have three children each.
(6)
Tu
two
tu
two
kabiten
kaptain
de
cop
a
loc
wan
one
kondee.
village
There are two captains in each village. (Lit. In one village there are two captains each.)
(7)
Wan
one
wan
one
dotii
dirt
doz
hab
bil
build
dam,
dam
tuu
two
tuu
two
dotii
dirt
doz
hab
bil
build
am
3sg
faasa.
faster
A dam is built one bit of earth at a time, but two bits of earth at a time would build it faster.
(8)
Deh
3pl
staart
start
tu
comp
bil
build
wan
one
wan
one
hous.
house
They started building houses one by one. (Lit. They started building one house each.)
(9)
Tripela
three
taim
time
long
in
wanpela
one
wanpela
one
yia
year
yupela
2pl
mas
must
makim
mark
bikpela
big
de
day
bilong
for
lotu
worship
bilong
poss
mi.
1sg
Three times each year you must reserve a feast day for worship.
(10)
[...]
[...]
be
but
wan
one
wan
one
aelan
island
blong
poss
Bankis
Banks
hemi
3sg.agr
gat
have
difren
different
nem
name
blong
poss
ol
pl
samting
something
ia
def
[...]
[...]
[...] but every island in the Banks has different names for these things [...].
(11)
Li
3sg
don
give
en
art
brok
jug
dilo
water
kat
for
kat
four
dimun.
person
She gives a jug of water to each group of four people.
(12)
na
loc
ya
belly
ti
of
abar
pl.bar
oko
one
oko
one
in each one of the bars (site for drinking).
(13)
Yena
3sg
nigile
give.pst
lo
art
gane
child
mabili
two
mabili
two
switi.
sweet
She gave the children two sweets each.

Value 2 (no special adjacent distributive numeral) is the most widespread value. Several constructions are possible in order to express distributivity. In the Cape Verdean Creole of Brava, the numeral is reduplicated, but it is not adjacent to the noun:

(14)
N
1sg
kré
want
karnéru
sheep
ki
rel
ta
hab
pari
deliver
dós-dós.
two-two
I want sheep that deliver lambs by pairs / two by two.

In other languages, expressions like ‘everyone’ or ‘every man’ are used:

(15)
Es
3pl
leba
carry
kada
every
un
one
tres
three
maléta.
suitcase
They carried three suitcases each.
(16)
Evri
every
man
man
tek
take
a
a
suutkeiz
suitcase
(iich
each
fo
for
iself).
himself
Each man took one suitcase.
(17)
Kánawi
all
man
man
tk'up
cut
makwst
two
stik.
tree
The men cut two trees each.
(18)
Konso
each
bakala
man
nat-aka
carry-pst
valise
suitcase
zole.
two
Each man carried two suitcases.

3. Distribution

Reduplication of the numeral for distributive functions (value 1) is totally absent from Spanish-based languages, Dutch-based languages, bilingual mixed languages, and also from most French-based languages (the only exception being Mauritian Creole); regarding the English-based languages, it is absent in 17 out of 27 languages.

Distributivity expressed by reduplication occurs in somewhat less than a third of our languages. It is present in the Atlantic as well as in Asia, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.

4. Comparison with WALS

Comparing this feature with the corresponding WALS feature (Gil 2005a), we can observe the following:

(1) The WALS languages show many more different types (affixation, preceding word, following word, other strategies) than the APiCS languages.

(2) Reduplication is the most widespread value in the WALS languages (84 out of 250 languages, i.e. roughly one third), whereas absence of adnominal distributive numerals is found in roughly one fourth of the languages. In the APiCS languages, reduplication is the only strategy found, with more or less the same percentage as in WALS; absence of adnominal distributive numerals is found in more than two thirds of the languages.

(3) In the WALS languages, reduplication is the predominant strategy in sub-Saharan Africa, in South Asia, and, to a lesser extent, in insular Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as well as in other areas. These areas correspond more or less to the sub- or adstrate languages of those APiCS languages which exhibit reduplication for this feature.

On the one hand, we can reasonably assume that the reduplication strategy in European-based APiCS languages is due to their substrate or adstrate languages. On the other hand, the high percentage of absence of adnominal distributive numerals seems to derive from the fact that the European superstrate languages Portuguese, Spanish, English, and French lack such numerals.