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 Consortium

Values

exclshrdall
Associative plural marker identical to additive plural marker29029
Special associative plural marker identical to 3rd plural pronoun808
Other special associative plural marker909
No associative plural marker25025
Representation:71

Language Value Lexifier Details Source
Id Primary text Analyzed text Gloss Translation Type Language Audio Details