Linguistics

A general typology of number systems has to confront the problem of variation both in the number values in different languages and in the inventories of nominals involved. We start from the Smith-Stark Hierarchy and extend this approach to additional numbers (such as dual and paucal). Associative plurals appear to undermine this typology, if we treat them as a third number. Either the associative plural or the ordinary plural proves to be exceptional.
The morphology of associative marking in Central Pomo and in Central Alaskan Yup’ik suggests that this is the wrong approach. In Central Pomo the associative contains an original plural segment. More significantly, Central Alaskan Yup’ik provides the ideal combination of three numbers and complex morphology to demonstrate that associatives should not be treated as additional numbers. Associativity and number are realized separately, which shows that associatives are a separate category interacting with number. This allows us to maintain the typology proposed.