On the Merge position of additive and associative plurals

Abstract

Differently from the additive plural, which refers to several instances of X, the associative plural refers to a group consisting of X and other individuals associated with X.1 As noted in fn. 1, in some languages (e.g., Turkish, Ainu, Japanese) ‘additive’ plurals and ‘associative’ plurals are expressed by one and the same morpheme; in others (Bangla (Biswas 2013, 2014), Garo (Burling 2004: 179f), Hungarian (see below)), by distinct morphemes. This suggests that the two plural notions share some common component while differing with respect to other components. Some languages capitalize on the shared component thus using one and the same morpheme (lexically underspecified with respect to the two notions), while other languages capitalize on the differentiating components thus using different morphemes, according to a pervasive source of lexical variation among languages (Cinque 2015a).2 In this article just one aspect of their syntax will be in focus: their Merge position within the extended projection of the NP, where they appear to occupy two distinct positions.