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On Plurals, noun phrase and num(ber) 
in Moroccan Arabic and Djibouti Somali

image of On Plurals, noun phrase and num(ber) 
in Moroccan Arabic and Djibouti Somali

In this paper, we focus on plural nouns in two Afroasiatic languages: Moroccan Arabic and Djibouti Somali. Within a syntactic approach to word formation, we show that not all plurals are located in the same syntactic position. In Moroccan Arabic, one plural results from the merger of a root with the head n, whereas the other realizes a feature on the number head. In a similar way, Somali displays two suffixal plurals, which realize two distinct syntactic structures. One suffix is associated to numP and behaves as a regular plural suffix; in contrast, the other suffix is analyzed as a bound root that selects for xPs (nP or numP) containing the feminine gender.

  • Affiliations: 1: CNRS & Université Paris 8; 2: Université de Tours & LLL UMR 7270

References

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    2008 Lexical Plurals: A Morphosemantic Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Andrzejewski, Bomugil Witalis
    1964 The Declensions of Somali Nouns. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. 1979 The Case System in Somali. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Banti, Giorgio
    1988 “Two Cushitic Systems: Somali and Oromo Nouns.” In Autosegmental Studies on Pitch Accent, ed. by Harry van der Hulst , and Norval Smith , 11–50. Dordrecht: Foris Publications.
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  5. 2011 “Somali Language.” In Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, ed. by Siegbert Uhlig , vol. 4, 693a–696b. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Benhallam, Abderrafi
    1980 Syllable Structure and Rule Types in Arabic. Ph.D. thesis, University of Florida.
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  7. Davis, Stuart
    1995 “Emphasis Spread and Grounded Phonology.”Linguistic Inquiry26: 465–498.
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  8. Embick, David , and Alec Marantz
    2008 “Architecture and Blocking.”Linguistic Inquiry39: 1–53. doi: 10.1162/ling.2008.39.1.1
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  9. Faust, Noam
    2011 Forme et fonction dans la morphologie nominale de l’hébreu moderne: études en morphosyntaxe. Ph.D. thesis, Université Paris 7.
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  10. Ghazali, Salem
    1981 “La diffusion de l’emphase.”Analyses-Théorie1: 122–135.
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  11. Godon, Elsa
    1998 Aspects de la morphologie nominale du somali: la formation du pluriel. Master thesis, Université Paris 7.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Hammond, Michael
    1988 “Templatic Transfer in Arabic Broken Plurals.”Natural Language and Linguistic Theory6: 247–270. doi: 10.1007/BF00134231
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  13. Heath, Jeffrey
    1987 Ablaut and Ambiguity: Phonology of a Moroccan Arabic Dialect. Albany: State University of New York Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Hyman, Larry
    1981 “Tonal Accent in Somali.”Studies in African Linguistics12 (2): 169–201.
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  15. Idrissi, Ali
    1997 “Plural Formation in Arabic.” In Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics: Papers from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, vol. X, ed. by Mushira Eid , and Robert Ratcliffe , 123–145. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.153.09idr
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  19. Kramer, Ruth
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  20. Lampitelli, Nicola
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  21. Lecarme, Jacqueline
    2002 “Gender Polarity: Theoretical Aspects of Somali Nominal Morphology.” In Many Morphologies, ed. by Paul Boucher , 109–141. Somerville: Cascadilla Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Lowenstamm, Jean
    2008 “On n, nP, √ and Types of Nouns.” In The Sounds of Silence: Empty Elements in Syntax and Phonology, ed. by Jutta M. Hartmann , Veronika Hegedűs , and Henk van Riemsdijk , 105–144. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
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  24. Marantz, Alec
    2001 Words. Ms., MIT.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. McCarthy, John , and Alan Prince
    1990 “Foot and Word in Prosodic Morphology: The Arabic Broken Plurals.”Natural Language and Linguistic Theory8: 209–283. doi: 10.1007/BF00208524
     https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00208524 [Google Scholar]
  26. Newman, Paul
    2000 The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar. Yale: Yale University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Orwin, Martin
    1995 Colloquial Somali. A Complete Language Course. New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Prunet, Jean-François
    2006 “External Evidence and the Semitic Root.”Morphology16: 41–67. doi: 10.1007/s11525‑006‑0003‑5
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11525-006-0003-5 [Google Scholar]
  29. Puglielli, Annarita , and Ciise Maxamed Siyaad
    1984 “La flessione del nome.” In Aspetti Morfologici, lessicali e della focalizzazione (Studi Somali 5), ed. by Annarita Puglielli , 53–112. Rome: MAE, Dipartimento per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Ratcliffe, Robert
    1997 “Prosodic Templates in a Word-based Morphological Analysis of Arabic.” In Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics X, ed. by Mushira Eid , and Robert R. Ratcliffe , 147–171. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.153.10rat
     https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.153.10rat [Google Scholar]
  31. Ritter, Elizabeth
    1991 “Two Functional Categories in Noun Phrases: Evidence from Modern Hebrew.” In Syntax and Semantics 26, ed. by Susan Rothstein , 37–62. San Diego: Academic Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Saeed, John
    1993 Somali Reference Grammar. Kensington, Maryland: Dunwoody Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Wright, William
    2004 Arabic Grammar. New York: Dover Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Younes, Munther
    1993 “Emphasis Spread in Two Arabic Dialects.” In Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics, VI, ed. by Clive Holes , and Mushira Eid , 119–145. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.101.08you
     https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.101.08you [Google Scholar]

References

  1. Acquaviva, Paolo
    2008 Lexical Plurals: A Morphosemantic Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Andrzejewski, Bomugil Witalis
    1964 The Declensions of Somali Nouns. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. 1979 The Case System in Somali. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Banti, Giorgio
    1988 “Two Cushitic Systems: Somali and Oromo Nouns.” In Autosegmental Studies on Pitch Accent, ed. by Harry van der Hulst , and Norval Smith , 11–50. Dordrecht: Foris Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. 2011 “Somali Language.” In Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, ed. by Siegbert Uhlig , vol. 4, 693a–696b. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Benhallam, Abderrafi
    1980 Syllable Structure and Rule Types in Arabic. Ph.D. thesis, University of Florida.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Davis, Stuart
    1995 “Emphasis Spread and Grounded Phonology.”Linguistic Inquiry26: 465–498.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Embick, David , and Alec Marantz
    2008 “Architecture and Blocking.”Linguistic Inquiry39: 1–53. doi: 10.1162/ling.2008.39.1.1
     https://doi.org/10.1162/ling.2008.39.1.1 [Google Scholar]
  9. Faust, Noam
    2011 Forme et fonction dans la morphologie nominale de l’hébreu moderne: études en morphosyntaxe. Ph.D. thesis, Université Paris 7.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Ghazali, Salem
    1981 “La diffusion de l’emphase.”Analyses-Théorie1: 122–135.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Godon, Elsa
    1998 Aspects de la morphologie nominale du somali: la formation du pluriel. Master thesis, Université Paris 7.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Hammond, Michael
    1988 “Templatic Transfer in Arabic Broken Plurals.”Natural Language and Linguistic Theory6: 247–270. doi: 10.1007/BF00134231
     https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00134231 [Google Scholar]
  13. Heath, Jeffrey
    1987 Ablaut and Ambiguity: Phonology of a Moroccan Arabic Dialect. Albany: State University of New York Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Hyman, Larry
    1981 “Tonal Accent in Somali.”Studies in African Linguistics12 (2): 169–201.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Idrissi, Ali
    1997 “Plural Formation in Arabic.” In Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics: Papers from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, vol. X, ed. by Mushira Eid , and Robert Ratcliffe , 123–145. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.153.09idr
     https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.153.09idr [Google Scholar]
  16. Kenstowicz, Michael , and Nabila Louriz
    2009 “Reverse Engineering: Emphatic Consonants and the Adaptation of Vowels in French Loanwords into Moroccan Arabic.”Brill’s Annual of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics1: 41–74. doi: 10.1163/187666309X12491131130701
     https://doi.org/10.1163/187666309X12491131130701 [Google Scholar]
  17. Kihm, Alain
    2003 “Les pluriels internes de l’arabe: système et conséquences pour l’architecture de la grammaire.”Recherches Linguistiques de Vincennes32: 109–156. doi: 10.4000/rlv.473
     https://doi.org/10.4000/rlv.473 [Google Scholar]
  18. 2006 “Nonsegmental Concatenation: A Study of Classical Arabic Broken Plurals and Verbal Nouns.”Morphology16: 69–105. doi: 10.1007/s11525‑006‑0004‑4
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11525-006-0004-4 [Google Scholar]
  19. Kramer, Ruth
    2012 “A Split Analysis of Plurality: Evidence from Amharic.” In The Proceedings of WCCFL 30, ed. by Nathan Arnett , and Ryan Bennett , 226–236. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Lampitelli, Nicola
    . 2013. “The Decomposition of Somali Nouns.” Brill’s Annual of Afroasiatic Languages and Linguistics5: 118–159.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Lecarme, Jacqueline
    2002 “Gender Polarity: Theoretical Aspects of Somali Nominal Morphology.” In Many Morphologies, ed. by Paul Boucher , 109–141. Somerville: Cascadilla Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Lowenstamm, Jean
    2008 “On n, nP, √ and Types of Nouns.” In The Sounds of Silence: Empty Elements in Syntax and Phonology, ed. by Jutta M. Hartmann , Veronika Hegedűs , and Henk van Riemsdijk , 105–144. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. . 2014. “Derivational affixes as roots, no exponence: Phasal spellout meets English stress shift.”InThe Syntax of Roots and the Roots of Syntax ed. by Artemis Alexiadou , Hagit Borer , and Florian Schaäfer , 230–258. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Marantz, Alec
    2001 Words. Ms., MIT.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. McCarthy, John , and Alan Prince
    1990 “Foot and Word in Prosodic Morphology: The Arabic Broken Plurals.”Natural Language and Linguistic Theory8: 209–283. doi: 10.1007/BF00208524
     https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00208524 [Google Scholar]
  26. Newman, Paul
    2000 The Hausa Language: An Encyclopedic Reference Grammar. Yale: Yale University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Orwin, Martin
    1995 Colloquial Somali. A Complete Language Course. New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Prunet, Jean-François
    2006 “External Evidence and the Semitic Root.”Morphology16: 41–67. doi: 10.1007/s11525‑006‑0003‑5
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11525-006-0003-5 [Google Scholar]
  29. Puglielli, Annarita , and Ciise Maxamed Siyaad
    1984 “La flessione del nome.” In Aspetti Morfologici, lessicali e della focalizzazione (Studi Somali 5), ed. by Annarita Puglielli , 53–112. Rome: MAE, Dipartimento per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Ratcliffe, Robert
    1997 “Prosodic Templates in a Word-based Morphological Analysis of Arabic.” In Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics X, ed. by Mushira Eid , and Robert R. Ratcliffe , 147–171. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.153.10rat
     https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.153.10rat [Google Scholar]
  31. Ritter, Elizabeth
    1991 “Two Functional Categories in Noun Phrases: Evidence from Modern Hebrew.” In Syntax and Semantics 26, ed. by Susan Rothstein , 37–62. San Diego: Academic Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Saeed, John
    1993 Somali Reference Grammar. Kensington, Maryland: Dunwoody Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Wright, William
    2004 Arabic Grammar. New York: Dover Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Younes, Munther
    1993 “Emphasis Spread in Two Arabic Dialects.” In Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics, VI, ed. by Clive Holes , and Mushira Eid , 119–145. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.101.08you
     https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.101.08you [Google Scholar]

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