Universal #964

Legacy number: 964

 Number  960
 Original  If the numeral ‘one’ turns into anything, it becomes an indefinite article (and/or pronoun), the reverse is not necessarily true.
 Standardized  Apart from remaining what it is, the numeral ‘one’ can only be reanalysed as an indefinite article (and/or pronoun).
 Keywords  numeral, indefinite, article, pronoun
 Domain  lexicon, syntax
 Type  target < source
 Status  diachronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  languages discussed in Givón 1985, Moravcsik 1969, Dryer 1989a
 Source  Givón 1985: 35, Plank & Moravcsik 1996: 197

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Discussion
Counterexamples
Regarding the 2nd part:In Moravcsik 1969: 83 a number of languages are noted where the indefinite article has a different origin (not from the numeral ‘one’): Amerind: Kwakiutl (Wakashan), Tonkawa (Coahuiltecan), Chinook (Chinookan);Classical Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Rumanian (Romance, Indo-European), Maranao (W. Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian).Dryer 1989: 86 found out that 11 of 34 languages have an indefinite article that is quite distinct in shape from the numeral ‘one’.
Notes
1. See also discussion of the evolution of indefinite article in Heine 1997: 4.2.2. The claim is not that indefinites can only result from a numeral 'one'. In Moravcsik 1969: 83 a number of languages are noted whose indefinite article has a different origin: Amerind: Kwakiutl (Wakashan), Tonkawa (Coahuiltecan), Chinook (Chinookan);Classical Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Rumanian (Romance, Indo-European), Maranao (W. Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian).Dryer 1989: 86 found that 11 of 34 languages have an indefinite article that is quite distinct in shape from the numeral ‘one’.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. See also discussion of the evolution of indefinite article in Heine 1997: 4.2.

2. The claim is not that indefinites can only result from a numeral 'one'. In Moravcsik 1969: 83 a number of languages are noted whose indefinite article has a different origin:
Amerind: Kwakiutl (Wakashan), Tonkawa (Coahuiltecan), Chinook (Chinookan);
Classical Arabic (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Rumanian (Romance, Indo-European), Maranao (W. Malayo-Polynesian, Austronesian). Dryer 1989: 86 found that 11 of 34 languages have an indefinite article that is quite distinct in shape from the numeral 'one'.