Chapter 25: Nominal plural marker and third-person-plural pronoun

Feature information for this chapter can be found in feature 25.

1. Feature description

In quite a few languages, the nominal plural marker is formally identical to the – mostly independent – 3rd person plural pronoun, as for instance in Cameroon Pidgin English:

(1)
a.
Wich
which
taym
time
dem
3pl
de
prog
go?
go
When are they going?
b.
Pikin
child
dem
pl
di
prog
pley
play
futbol
football
fo
loc
stad.
stadium
The children are playing football at the stadium.

This chapter is closely related to Chapter 22 on the occurrence of nominal plural markers and to Chapter 23 on the expression of nominal plural meaning.

2. The values

In this feature, four values are distinguished:

No nominal plural word29
Identity16
Differentiation22
Overlap9
Representation:76

Many APiCS languages do not posses a nominal plural word (value 1). The plural marking in these languages is discussed in Chapter 23. The most widespread strategies are the use of a plural suffix (as -s/-is in Cape Verdean of São Vicente), reduplication of the stem (as in Singapore Bazaar Malay), or stem change (as in Nigerian Pidgin).

Identity (value 2) means that there is only one word that is used both as a 3rd person plural pronoun and as a nominal plural marker, as shown by (1). In example (1b), as well as in the following examples, the plural marker follows the noun:

(2)
di
art
mēnshi
girl
sinu
pl
the girls
(3)
def
man
man
para
stand
insay
inside
pipul
people
dɛn
pl
The man is standing amidst people.

But the plural marker may also precede the noun:

(4)
Sam
some
a
of
dem
pl
bway
boy
wuda
would
gu
go
awt.
out
Some of the boys want to go out.
(5)
Tudu
all
inen
pl
ngê
people
se
dem
ka
fut
môlê.
die
All people in question will die.
(6)
Mi
1sg
lukim
see.tr
ol
pl
dok
dog
i
pm
ranim
run.tr
pik
pig
bilong
poss
mi.
1sg
I saw the dogs that chased my pig.

Differentiation (value 3) means that there are two different words for the two functions, as in

(7)
a.
pl
zwéwo-a
bird-def
chapé.
escape
The birds flew away.
b.
Yo
3pl
chapé.
escape
They flew away.

Overlap (value 4) means that there are two words and that one functions only as a pronoun and the other as a pronoun as well as a nominal plural marker, or the other way around. In the following examples (8a-c), taken from Bislama, olgeta functions as a personal pronoun as well as a nominal plural marker, but ol is only a nominal plural marker:

(8)
a.
Olgeta
3pl
oli
agr
drong.
drunk
They were drunk.
b.
Olgeta
3pl
UMP
UMP
oli
agr
no
neg
laekem
like
hem.
3sg
The UMP (people) didn't like him.
c.
Ol
pl
haos
house
oli
agr
fas~fas
red~fast
tumas.
very
The houses are crowded together.

38% of the APiCS languages do not possess a nominal plural word; 29% differentiate between the 3rd person pronoun and the plural marker; 21% use the 3rd person plural pronoun for nominal plural marking, and 12% show overlap.

Out of the 47 languages with a nominal plural marker (values 2-4), 22 differentiate between the two functions, 16 show identity, and 9 overlap. In other words, 52% of the languages to which the feature applies possess the feature, either exclusively or together with another marker.

3. A special case

A special case is found in Trinidad English Creole and Vincentian Creole. In these two languages, the plural marker may be a combination of the conjunction ‘and’ and the pronoun of the 3rd person plural. In Trinidad English Creole, this is the only possibility (value 3, differentiation):

(9)
Santa,
Santa
yu
2sg
see
see
yu
2sg
an
and
dem
dem
chupid
stupid
Reindeer
Reindeer
an
and
dem
them
[...].
[...]
Santa, you see you and these stupid Reindeer [...].

In Vincentian Creole, the conjunction ‘and’ is optional (value 4, overlap):

(10)
a.
di
art
maango
mango
an
and
dem
them
the mangoes
b.
di
art
maango
mango
dem
them
the mangoes

4. Geographical distribution

The identity between the 3rd person plural pronoun and the nominal plural marker, be it as value 2 (identity) or 4 (overlap), is almost exclusively an Atlantic feature, occurring on both sides of the ocean (7 languages in West Africa, fifteen in the Caribbean). It is not restricted to a specific primary lexifier since it occurs, for example, in Santome (Portuguese-based), Krio (English-based), Haitian (French-based), or Negerhollands (Dutch-based).

In the Pacific area, this feature also occurs in three historically related English-based creoles, as identity in Tok Pisin and as overlap in Bislama and Norf’k.

5. Theoretical observations

According to some creolists, the third person plural pronoun used as a nominal plural marker in a given language is not a mere plural marker but a marker of (plural) definiteness or a plural article. We would like to show that, at least in Principense, this marker (realized as ine) is not a marker of definiteness or a plural article but a plural marker that is only used in definite contexts.

Like many creole languages, Principense does not overtly mark generic or indefinite plural noun phrases, and it does not mark plural noun phrases which are modified by a plural quantifier unless these are syntactically marked for definiteness, e.g. with a demonstrative determiner or a relative clause:

(11)
Principense (Maurer own field work)
kwatu
four
omi
man
vs.
vs.
ine
pl
kwatu
four
omi
man
dem
four men vs. these four men

In such cases, it is not ine which triggers a definite reading of the noun phrase but the occurrence of the (definite) demonstrative which triggers the use of ine. This means that for language internal reasons many indefinite contexts exclude the use of a nominal plural marker.

If the noun is inanimate, it may only be modified by ine if the noun phrase is overtly definite, e.g. because of the co-occurrence of the demonstrative :

(12)
Principense (Maurer own field work)
3sg
tan
take
ine
pl
laanza.
orange
vs.
vs.
Ê
3sg
tan
take
ine
pl
laanza
orange
dem
She took the oranges. vs. She took the/these oranges.

Vocative noun phrases are intrinsically definite because of the extralinguistic context in which they are used. In sentences like (13) the plural marker does not add definiteness to the noun phrase – it only adds plurality.

(13)
Principense (Maurer own field work)
Ningê
person
ê!
voc
vs.
vs.
Ine
pl
ningê
person
ê!
voc
Sir! / Madam! vs. Ladies! / Gentlemen!

The rules of Principense may of course not be applied to other languages, and each language must be examined for itself separately. The important fact here is that in many creole languages, the 3rd person plural pronoun can be used to express nominal plurality in one way or another.