Universal #1371
Legacy number: 1371
| Number | 1367 |
| Original | If grammatical number (singular, dual, paucal, plural) is marked at all on classifier constructions, it is usually marked on or by classifier - not on the noun, which has the characteristic of a mass, collective, or uncountable noun. |
| Standardized | If grammatical number (singular, dual, paucal, plural) is marked at all on classifier constructions, it is usually marked on or by the classifier, not on the noun, which has the characteristic of a mass, collective, or uncountable noun. |
| Keywords | classifier, number, noun |
| Domain | inflection |
| Type | no genuine implication; rather: provided that |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | statistical |
| Basis | sample of about 100 languages in Greenberg 1972 |
| Source | inferred from Greenberg 1972 by Allan 1977</r>: 294 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Allan 1977: in Yucatec Mayan , the plural is optionally marked on the noun in classifier constructions. In Algonquian, the plural is obligatorily marked on the noun where the classifier counts discrete objects, but is absent where translation into English is a partitive expression.
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