On the Category and Morphosyntax of Numerals

Sjef Barbiers (Leiden University & Dutch Language Institute)

Irina Morozova (Leiden University)

The cross-linguistic and intralinguistic categorial status of numerals is a long-standing problem for syntactic theory (cf., Corbett 1978, Hurford 1987). The goal of this paper is to investigate the syntactic category of cardinal and indefinite numerals by comparing their morphosyntax, primarily but not exclusively in Russian and Dutch. We show that a division into three subcategories is necessary: (i) numeral 1; (ii) cardinals ³ 2; (iii) indefinite numerals such as MANY. Simplifying, we propose that DPs containing a cardinal ³ 2 or an indefinite numeral have the bipartite structure in (1), building on Leu (2005), and Roehrs (2008) for the structure of morphologically complex quantifiers such as someone, and Martí Girbau (2010) for numeral containing DPs and partitives.

(1)            [DP [D [ClassP-high [Class-high [PP [P [ClassP-low [Class-low [NP [N ]]]]]]]]]]

In this structure, the Class-low (or sortal) classifier projection is connected to a Class-high (or mensural) classifier projection by an (abstract) preposition. As for numeral 1, we build on, i.a., Borer (2005), Barbiers (2007), Kayne (2020) and propose that it is a classifier that individuates nouns and makes them countable. Evidence for the distinct status of numeral 1 comes, i.a., from its inflectional properties in Russian, Finnish, Hebrew, Romance languages, Brabantish. We argue that numeral 1 is generated in Class-low. Distinctly from DPs with cardinals ³ 2, a DP with numeral 1 does not project the PP and ClassP-high layers of the structure in (1). The presence of an abstract P explains the genitive and partitive case on the noun following a cardinal in Russian and Finnish. Dutch does not show such overt cases, but we discuss a number of patterns in which P is overt. These patterns also show that cardinals ³ 2 are generated in SpecClassP-low and move to SpecClassP-high whenever possible. Indefinite numeral veel ‘many’ in Dutch is generated in Class-high, its Russian counterpart is generated and stays in Class-low if realized as mnogie, lit. ‘many-PL’, with a plural reading, while it moves from Class-low to Class-high if realized as mnogo, lit. ‘many-o’, with an amount reading. 

References:

Barbiers, S. 2007. Indefinite numerals ONE and MANY and the cause of ordinal suppletion. Lingua, 117(5), 859–880.

Borer, H. 2005. Structuring sense volume I: In name only. OUP .

Corbett, G. 1978. Universals in the syntax of cardinal numerals. Lingua 46, 355-368.

Hurford, J. 1987. Language and number: The emergence of a cognitive system. Blackwell.

Kayne, R. 2020. Some thoughts on one and two and other numerals. In L. Franco & P . Lorusso (Eds.), Linguistic Variation: Structure and Interpretation. De Gruyter. 335–356.

Leu, T. 2005. Something invisible in English. University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics 11(1). 143–154.

Martí Girbau, N. 2010. The syntax of partitives [diss. Barcelona].

Roehrs, D. 2008. Something inner- and cross-linguistically different. JCGL, 11(1), 1–42.

Participation is free and open to all.

Financed by the research programme Language & Communication and by the Department of English