Number in Balinese

Abstract

Nominal number in Balinese varies in expression. All Balinese pronouns are singular, in violation of Greenberg’s Universal 42 (‘All languages have pronominal categories involving at least three persons and two numbers’). Non-reduplicated common nouns have general number, and regular and associative plural constructions allow for expression of nominal plurality. Common nouns can also be reduplicated, which often (but not always) indicates plural meaning. In the verbal domain, reduplication is a derivational process which can imply rather than encode plural meaning. We also examine the semantics of nominal plurality in Balinese and the availability of inclusive/exclusive plural readings. Show more