NOUN The Category of Number

The Category of Number
Paradigmatics
the singular
oneness
indiscreteness
(нерасчленённость)
A debated problem
(syntagmatic meanings of the plural form)
the plural
more-than-oneness (multitude, quantity, numerosity)
discreteness

NOUNS
countables uncountables

The morpheme of plurality
(allomorphs)
cat:: cats
boy :: boys
brush :: brushes
wife:: wives
passer-by:: passers-by
man :: men
tooth:: teeth
deer :: deer
child :: children
phenomenon::
phenomena
datum::data

Nouns Foreign in Origin
Morphological variation
Assimilation parallel native forms
E.g. formula — formulae, formulas
terminus — termini, terminuses
stratum — strata, stratums
Foreign plurals are decidedly
more bookish than the native ones

Uncountable nouns
Singularia tantum
outside the sphere of number
- material
- collective
- abstract nouns
Pluralia tantum
more than oneness
abstract nouns ( the beginnings of the world)
financial terms (assets)
objects consisting of two parts (shorts, trousers)
names of games ( billiards)
diseases (blues, measles)
proper and geographical names (The Browns, The Alps, The British Isles)

Singularia tantum and pluralia tantum
meaning, form, the combinability of nouns
But meaning and form can be at variance
A noun, singular in form, can be plural in meaning
E.g. The sheep are healthy.
A noun, plural in form, can be singular in meaning
E.g. The news is sad.

Agreement between the form of the noun and the predicate
In English logical agreement prevails over formal agreement
Unlike Russian
In English a singular noun, functioning as a subject, may combine with a plural predicate
E.g. The police are in the yard.
The happy pair were seated opposite each other.
The big fish eat the small fish, but the ocean doesn’t care.

Agreement between the form of the noun and the predicate
A plural noun combines with a singular verb, functioning as a predicate
E.g. Physics is a science.

Сountables and uncountables
Relative distinction in English
Сontextually сountables can turn into uncountables and vice versa
E.g. Our cheeses are the best in the world.
She has more hair than wit and more faults than hairs.
She possessed certain beauties, like her hair.

Сountables and uncountables
grass – a grass internal conversion
internal conversion: transition from subclass to subclass:
E.g. nouns uncount => nouns count
external conversion means transition from class to class:
E.g. nouns =>verbs, etc

Neutralization of the opposition
singular :: plural
In syntagmatics (contextually)
both forms come to designate generalization:
E.g. I am a poet of the woman the same as the man ( the generalized singular)

The pluaral form
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic meanings
Primary
more than oneness
remains unchanged in any context
E.g. Different situations require different behaviours.
additional
depend on the context
appear along with the paradigmatic meaning
revealed by means of the componential analysis superimposed upon the contextual analysis
described in terms of semantic components of discreteness, emotiveness, intensiveness, expressiveness and evaluation (negative or positive)

Syntagmatic meaning of the pluaral form
E.g. He was full of attentions to his wife, for a fortnight at least. (W. M.Thackeray)
the mechanism of irony:
Contextual negative evaluation
The positive meaning of this word, registered in the dictionary, is ruined by the negative context.

A grammatical metaphor
Semantic agreement: the presence of identical semantic components (semes) in the words combined or juxtaposed
Semantic disagreement: the absence of identical semantic components
a grammatical metaphor
“the hyperbolic plural”
E.g. She walks in Beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies. (G.Byron)
the global linguistic law of the asymmetry of a linguistic sign

A grammatical metaphor
E.g. I was so happy to be alone,
so full of love for the great speechless earth,
That I would have laid my cheek in the grasses
(R.Aldington, “A Moment’s Interlude”)
The additional meanings of
emotiveness,
intensiveness,
expressiveness
evaluation
complicate the paradigmatic meaning of “more than oneness” in any artistic text

The Metaphoric Use of the Plural of Nouns
Expressive connotation is particularly strong with nouns denoting unique things
E.g. Ahead of them was a tunnel of fire... They plunged into it. A glare brighter than a dozen suns dazzled their eyes, scroching heat seared their skins and the roaring, crackling and crashing beat upon ears in painful waves. (Mitchell)

“Universals" of the Plural Form
"augmentative" plurals
to denote large amounts of substance
or a high degree of something
when we see the matter as it exists in nature
stylistic purposes in literary prose and poetry

“Augmentative" Plurals
E.g. the blue waters of the Mediterranean the sands of the Sahara Desert
the snows of Kilimanjaro
синие воды Средиземного моря,
пески Сахары, снега Арктики
Еще в полях белеет снег,
А воды уж весной шумят. (Тютчев)
Люблю ее степей алмазные снега. (Фет)
Cf. French: les eaux, les sables

Stylistic Transpositions of Singular Nouns
E.g. trees in leaf,
to have a keen eye,
blue of eye, strong of muscle
synecdoche — the simplest case of metonymy in grammar
("pars pro toto")
The stylistic effect of generalization

Stylistic Transpositions of Singular Nouns
E.g. The Germans won the victories. By God they were soldiers. The Old Hun was a soldier. But they were cooked too. They were all cooked... The Hun would come down through the Trentino, and cut the railway at the Vicenza and then where would the Italians be? (Hemingway)

Lexicalization of the pluaral form
the morpheme –s
changes a bit the semantic meaning of the word it is attached to
on the way to becoming a suffix
E.g. How does Russian colours look like? (=flag)

Lexicalization of the pluaral form
tables – a classical inflexion
grasses - partially lexicalized
colours - already a suffix