Berber <i>isnin</i> and “Defined Numerals”

Contenu

Titre
Berber <i>isnin</i> and “Defined Numerals”
Créateur
Brugnatelli, Vermondo
Date
2024
Dans
The Handbook of Berber Linguistics
Résumé
This paper deals with “defined” numerals, i.e. numerals used in a context where the number of items is already known, like English ‘both’ (‘the two’). Quantifiers referring to two items like ‘both’ are quite widespread in the languages of the world, and most of the Berber languages, too, possess a word, isnin, which is evidently built on the numeral ‘two’ (sin) and means ‘both’. Nevertheless, some Berber languages also display numerals meaning ‘the three’, ‘the four’ etc. This paper aims at describing such peculiar numerals and at providing a diachronic explanation of their origin. This reconstruction implies the presence of the ancient morphemes of determination that nowadays have been merged into all nouns, losing their original meaning and becoming simple nominal marks.
Place
Singapore
Langue
eng
pages
335-357
ISBN
978-981-9956-90-6

Brugnatelli, Vermondo, “Berber isnin and “Defined Numerals””, Springer Nature, 2024, bibliographie, consulté le 18 septembre 2024, https://ibadica.org/s/bibliographie/item/23887

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