24 The associative plural
This feature is described more fully in
chapter 24.
Summary
An associative plural construction consists of a noun N (typically denoting a human) plus a marker, with the meaning 'N and others associated with N'. The others can be family, friends or simply people in N's company. Associative plurals are thus referentially heterogenous, and they contrast with additive plurals, which are referentially homogeneous: While N + additive plural means 'several people of type N', N + associative plural has the meaning 'several people who are associated with N, including N'.
Authors
Susanne Maria Michaelis, Martin Haspelmath and the APiCS ConsortiumValues
| excl | shrd | all | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Associative plural marker identical to additive plural marker | 29 | 0 | 29 |
 | Special associative plural marker identical to 3rd plural pronoun | 8 | 0 | 8 |
 | Other special associative plural marker | 9 | 0 | 9 |
 | No associative plural marker | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Representation: | 71 | |||
| Language | Value | Lexifier | Details | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Id | Primary text | Analyzed text | Gloss | Translation | Type | Language | Audio | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|