Universal #514
Legacy number: 514
| Number | 512 |
| Original | There is no language in which the plural does not have some non-zero allomorphs, whereas there are languages in which the singular is expressed only by zero. The dual and the trial are almost never expressed only by zero. |
| Standardized | There is no language in which the plural does not have some non-zero allomorphs, whereas there are languages in which the singular is expressed only by zero. The dual and the trial are almost never expressed only by zero. |
| Keywords | number, singular, plural, dual, trial, allomorphy, zero<br> |
| Domain | inflection |
| Type | unconditional |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | 30 languages of Greenberg 1963 sample |
| Source | Greenberg 1963: 94, #35 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Imonda (Trans-New Guinea, Papuan), according to Seiler 1985, uses an overt affix to indicate singular and dual, while the absence of that affix indicates plural (see Comments)
Notes
1. Note that the Imonda system is also unusual in grouping singular and dual together in contrast to plural. This grouping is probably relevant to explaining the exceptional number marking in Imonda, but the grouping itself runs counter to common assumptions about possible number systems (e.g., Dryer 1997: 124).2. Corbett 1992: 34 comments on Greenberg’s universal #35: “The expression of the singular (the unmarked number) will be simpler than that of the other numbers (by use of Ø stem formants and/or Ø inflections). This claim holds true when the majority of nouns are considered, but it is quite possible for smaller groups of nouns to behave differently.” E.g., Russian bolgar-in-Ø/bolgar-Ø-y ‘a Bulgarian/Bulgarians’.
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2. Corbett 1992: 34 comments on Greenberg's universal #35: "The expression of the singular (the unmarked number) will be simpler than that of the other numbers (by use of ∅ stem formants and/or ∅ inflections). This claim holds true when the majority of nouns are considered, but it is quite possible for smaller groups of nouns to behave differently." E.g., Russian bolgar-in-∅/bolgar-∅-y "a Bulgarian/Bulgarians".