Bantu6/Déchaine&Keupdjio/21June2016
NumberinBamilekeMedumba
NumberinBamilekeMedumba
Rose-MarieDéchaine&HermannKeupdjio
DepartmentofLinguistics,UniversityofBritishColumbia
[email protected];[email protected]
1.NUMBER-MARKINGONCOUNTNOUNS
•Number-markingpartitionscountNsintofivenoun-classes(cf.Voorhoeve1968).
CL
SG
1
m-ɛ́ n
CL1-child
∅-shùm
CL1-son
∅-Bú
CL1-dog
‘mychild’
∅-àm
CL1-1POSS
‘myson’
∅-àm
CL1-1POSS
‘mydog’
∅-àm
CL1-1POSS
∅-bhú
CL3-hand
∅-sò
CL5-tooth
‘myhand’ 4 m-bhú
∅-ám
CL4-hand
CL3-1POSS
s-ám
‘mytooth’
n-sò
CL5-1POSS
CL4-tooth
TABLE1:NUMBERONCOUNTNOUNS
3
5
CL
PL
6
b-ún
CL6-child
shùm-shùm
CL6A-son
∅-Bú
CL6-dog
tʃ-ám
‘mychildren’
CL6-1POSS
tʃ-ám
‘mysons’
CL6-1POSS
tʃ-ám
‘mydogs’
CL6-1POSS
m-ám
‘myhands’
CL4-1POSS
m-ám
‘myteeth’
CL4-1POSS
2.NUMBER-MARKINGONMASSNOUNS
•Non-countNsareinherentlysingular(C3,C5),orinherentlyplural(C6,C4).
CL sg
CL pl
tʃ-ám
‘mybrain’
∅-ndzə̀ ʔ-thú
∅-àm
∅-kákù
1
6
‘myluggage’
cl1-marrow-head cl1-1poss (lit.marrowofhead)
cl6-luggage cl6-1poss
∅-zə́ ə̀-nù
∅-ám
3
‘myintelligence’
cl3-know-thing
cl3-1poss
mvɛ́ t
m-ám
4
‘myoil’
cl4.oil
cl4-1poss
s-ám
∅-lʉ́ ʉ̀ 5
‘myblood’
cl5-1poss
cl5-blood
TABLE2:NUMBERONNON-COUNT(ABSTRACT&MASS)NOUNS
1
Bantu6/Déchaine&Keupdjio/21June2016
NumberinBamilekeMedumba
2.1Pluralizinginherentlypluralmassnouns
•InherentlypluralmassNsarepluralizedwithassociativepluralbà(cf.Keupdjio2015).
CL SG
CL A.PL+PL
tʃ-ám
bà∅-kákù
1 — — — 6
‘mypiecesofluggage’
A.PLCL6-luggage CL6-1POSS
3 — — —
bàmvɛ́ t
m-ám
4
‘mykindsofoil’
A.PLCL4.oil
CL4-1POSS
5 — — —
TABLE3:PLURALIZATIONOFINHERENTLYPLURALMASSNOUNS
2.2Pluralizinginherentlysingularmassnouns
•InherentlysingularmassNsarepluralizedwithregularplural-marking(C6,C4).
CL SG
CL PL
tʃ-ám
∅-ndzə̀ ʔ-thú
∅-àm
#∅-ndzə̀ ə́ʔ-thú
‘mybrain’
1 CL1-marrow-head CL1-1POSS
6 CL6-marrow-head CL6-1POSS [mybrains]
(lit.marrowofhead)
3
∅-zə́ ə̀-nù
CL3-know-thing
5
∅-lʉ́ ʉ̀ CL5-blood
#n-zə́ ə̀-nù
m-ám
[mytypesofintell.]
CL4-know-thing
CL4-1POSS
4 %n-dʉ́ ʉ̀ s-ám
m-ám
‘myblood’
‘mytypesofblood’
CL5-1POSS
CL4-blood
CL4-1POSS
TABLE4:PLURALIZATIONOFINHERENTLYSINGULARNON-COUNTNOUNS
∅-ám
‘myintelligence’
CL3-1POSS
2
Bantu6/Déchaine&Keupdjio/21June2016
NumberinBamilekeMedumba
3.APPLYINGTHETESTS
(i) COUNT N
TEST
• INDEFINITE QUANTIFIER
1 tàʔINDEF N
= ‘a N’
✓tàʔ m-ɛ̀n-tsìn
IND C1-person-real
‘a person’
• SPLIT QUANTIFIERS: ‘each’ and ‘all’
2 (a) FOC WH NSG QU
✓mbà j-ít
m-ɛ̀n-tsìn
lō
= ‘each N’
even SG-WH C1-person-real QU
‘each person’
(b) every NPL all
= ‘all N’
✓ndʒɔ̀ɔ́ŋ b-ʉ̀n-tsìn
fɛ́
every
C6-person-real all
‘all (the) people’
(ii) MASS N: PL
✗ tàʔ mvɛ́t
IND C4.oil
✗ mbà
even
j-ít
SG-WH
(iii) MASS N: SG
✗ tàʔ ∅-lʉ́
IND C5-blood
mvɛ́t ló
C4.oil QU
✓ndʒɔ̀ɔ́ŋ mvɛ́t fɛ́
every
C4.oil all
‘all (the) oil’
✓ndʒɔ̀ɔ́ŋ n-dʉ́
fɛ́
every
C4-blood all
‘all (the) blood’
✓mbà j-ít
∅-lʉ́
ló
even SG-WH C5-blood QU
‘each type of blood’
✓ndʒɔ̀ɔ́ŋ ∅-lʉ́
fɛ́
every
C5-blood all
‘all (the) blood’
• PRE-NOMINAL QUANTIFIERS: ‘few, litle, a lot of’ (left-adjoined to DP?)
3
(a.i) few ind’l pl-N
= ‘few N’
✓bú ndòó
b-ʉ̀n-tsìn
few individual C6-person-real
‘(the) few people’
✗ bú ndòó
mvɛ́t
few individual C4.oil
✗ bú ndòó
∅-lʉ́
few individual C5-blood
(a.ii) DEG-little N
= ‘little N’
✗ tsìít-tsìt b-ʉ̀n-tsìn
DEG-little C6-person-real
✓mʉ́-tsìít
mvɛ́t
DEG-little
C4.oil
‘(the) little oil’
✓mʉ́-tsìít
∅-lʉ́
DEG-littleC5-blood
‘(the)littleblood’
✓bhwɔ̀ɔ́ŋb-ʉ̀n
✓bhwɔ̀ɔ́ŋ
mvɛ́t
a.lot.ofC6-person
a.lot.ofC4.oil
‘alotofpeople’
‘alotofoil’
• POST-NOMINAL QUANTIFIERS: numerals and ‘many’ (LK = link; right-adjoined to NP?)
4 (a)
N LK NUM
✓
b-ʉ̀n-tsìn
tʃùʔ báà
✗
mvɛ́t tʃùʔ báà
C6-person-real LK two
c4.oil LK two
‘(the) two people’
(b) a.lot.of N
= ‘a lot of N’
(b) CLASS N LK NUM
✓tsə́
b-ʉ̀n-tsìn
tʃùʔ báà
group C6-person-real LK two
‘(the) two groups of people’
(c)
✓
N LK many
= ‘many/much N’
b-ʉ̀n-tsìntʃùʔmá-yámə́
C6-person-realLKDEG-many
‘somanypeople’
✓bɛ́ nmvɛ́ ttʃùʔbáà
tinC4.oilLKtwo
‘(the)twotinsofoil’
✓
mvɛ́ttʃùʔmá-yámə́
C4.oilLKDEG-many
=‘somuchoil’
=‘somanytypesofoil’
✓bhwɔ̀ɔ́ŋ
∅-lʉ́
a.lot.ofC5-blood
‘alotofblood’
✗
∅-lʉ́
tʃùʔ báà
C5-blood LK two
✓bhúʔ∅-lʉ́ tʃùʔbáà
pack C5-blood LK two
‘(the) two packs of blood’
∅-lʉ́tʃùʔmá-yámə́
C5-bloodLKDEG-many
=‘somuchblood’
=‘somanytypesofblood’
✓
3
Bantu6/Déchaine&Keupdjio/21June2016
NumberinBamilekeMedumba
4.FINDINGS
Testsforcount/masscontrasts(adaptedfromKulkarnietal.2013)indicatethat:
1.SingularindefinitetàʔselectsforcountNs.
2.Universalquantifiersselectfornumber
(a)‘each’compatiblewith(count&mass)singularNs
(b)‘all’compatiblewith(count&mass)pluralNs
3.Prenominalquantifiers
(a)count/masscontrastwith‘few/little’
(i)‘few’combineswithpluralcountNs
(ii)‘little’combineswithinherentlypluralandsingularmassNs
(b)nocount/masscontrastwith‘alotof’
4.Post-nominalquantifiers
(a)barenumeralcompatibleonlywithcountN
(b)numeralwithclassifiercompatiblewithcountormassNs
(c)‘many’insensitivetocount/masscontrast
Conclusion1
Tests1,3a&4a-bconfirmthatthereisacount/masscontrastinMedumba.
Conclusion2
MedumbamassNspartitionintotwoclassesaccordingtowhethertheyareinherentlypluralorinherentlysingular.Test2(withtheuniversal
quantifiers‘each’and‘all’)confirmsthatthisisanauthenticnumbercontrast:‘each’selectsformorphologicalsingular(countandmass)Ns;‘all’selects
formorphologicallyplural(countandmassNs).(Residue:somespeakersalsoallow‘all’tocombinewithasingularmassN.)
Openquestions:
1.Whatisthesignificanceofnumber-markingonmassNsrelativetosemantictheoriesconcerningthedenotationofmassNs?
2.Whatisthesignificanceofnumber-markingonmassNsrelativetosyntactictheoriesofnumbermarking(cf.Borer2005)?
3.WhyistheassociativepluralbàrecruitedtopluralizeinherentlypluralmassNs?
4.Whatisthesyntax(andcompositionalsemantics)ofcomplexquantificationalexpressionsinMedumba?
5.SELECTEDREFERENCES
Borer,H..2005.InNameOnly.StructuringSense,VolumeI.OUP.
Keupdjio,H..2015.NumberstackingandthesemanticsofAssociativepluralsinBamilekeMedumba(ms).UBC.
Kulkarni,R.,Rothstein,S.D.,&Treves,A.(2013).Astatisticalinvestigationintothecross-linguisticdistributionofmassandcountnouns:
morphosyntacticandsemanticperspectives.Biolinguistics,7,132-168.
Voorhoeve,J.1968.NounclassesinBamileke.Lingua21,584-593.
4