Composed of a noun X and a grammatical morpheme or word, associative plural constructions[1] carry the meaning ‘X and other entities associated with X.’ The noun X, which is marked by a form of the plural, is usually a pragmatically dominant element of the group, or its focal reference. In most cases, this noun is a specific person or kinship term, and both it and its associated entities belong to the same cognitive group.[2] The associative plural can be identified by two semantic criteria: (1) referential heterogeneity[3], (2) a group of closely related individuals[4].
Languages may be grouped into the following possible types (with noun referring to the noun that represents the focal reference):
NoPlAsc: The language does not have a grammatically identifiable strategy to express the associative plural.
SpAffPlAsc: A special affix[5] on the noun is used to mark the associative plural.
SpArtPlAsc: A special article is used with the noun to mark the associative plural.
SpClitPlAsc: A special clitic is used with the noun to mark the associative plural.
Aff1PlAsc: The primary plural marker (which is simultaneously the additive plural marker[6]) is used on the noun to mark the associative plural.
Aff2PlAsc: The secondary plural marker (simultaneously the additive plural marker) is used on the noun to mark the associative plural.[7]
PxPlAsc: The presence of both a possessive marker and a plural marker, or simply a plural possessive marker, is used with the noun to mark the associative plural.
PPPlAsc: A plural personal pronoun is used with the noun to mark the associative plural.
ConPlAsc: A conjunction is used with the noun to mark the associative plural.
PlVPlAss: A plural verb form is used with the noun to mark the associative plural.
[1] Various names for this construction can be found in the literature. The use of the term plural here refers to any non-singular, including the dual and potentially other intermediate numbers.
[2] The focal reference may be any of the following semantic categories, in order of frequency: proper name of a person > human kinship term > other human common noun > animal > object. The associated entities may be of the following types: a) family of X, b) friends or companions of X, c) occasional group to which X belongs. The majority of languages with the associative plural allow all three types, although some are limited to the first. This should be explained in the commentary.
[3] Compare to the additive plural and the similative plural. The additive plural involves a homogenous group, or a group all of whose members can be defined the same way (e.g., boys). The similative plural denotes a class including the reference and entities with similar features.
[4] Compare to collective plurals that mark homogenous groups, such as the Russian drova ‘firewood’.
[5] “Special” refers to an item uniquely designated for this purpose.
[6] This is the standard marker used to pluralize nouns.
[7] Unlike the affix used in languages of the SpAffPlAss type, this morpheme serves to mark the plural, despite not being the primary plural marker in the language.