Associative plural marking in English varieties

Abstract

We normally think of ‘plural’ in English in terms of reference to more than one, as in the use of the word dogs to refer to more than one dog. This is described as the ‘ordinary’ or ‘additive’ plural, which has referential homogeneity in the sense that every member of the group referenced by dogs is a dog. In contrast, there is another type of plural which is used for human groups and has referential heterogeneity, that is, each member of the referenced group is a separate individual.1 In addition, each of those members is associated in some way, typically as family, friend or habitual companion, with a prominent member of the group, hence the term ‘associative’ plural for the construction. The following description is from Moravcsik (2003). Associative plurals will be taken to be constructions whose meaning is ‘X and X's associate(s),’ where all members are individuals, X is the focal referent, and the associate(s) form a group centering around X. (pp. 470–471)