Pluralization is used to denote two or more of a particular noun. Unlike verbs, nouns in Mi'gmaq do not distinguish between dual or plural forms. Like the familiar English method of pluralizing nouns by adding [-s], nouns are pluralized by [suffixation|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffix] in Mi'gmaq; the form of this suffixation is dependent on the gender (animate/inanimate) of the noun, as well as the final segments of the noun in question.
Animate
There are many possible forms for the animate plural suffix, as demonstrated by the following table:
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Morpheme |
Gloss
|
| miti's
|
miti'sg
|
-g
|
tree
|
| nipi
|
nipi'g
|
-g (with vowel lengthening)
|
leaf
|
| sqolj
|
sqoljig
|
-ig
|
frog
|
| e'pit
|
e'pijig
|
-ig (with palatalization)
|
tree
|
| alug
|
alug-g
|
-g
|
oyster
|
| samqwano'q
|
samqwano'q-q
|
-q
|
salmon
|
| siguap
|
siguapaq
|
-aq
|
widower
|
The variation in the form of the suffix can mostly be explained by the final segment and syllable shape of the noun taking it, and thus it is reasonable to postulate that the underlying plural suffix for animate nouns is /-g/ and, depending on the final segment of the noun being pluralized, this suffix can surface as [-g], [-ig], [-ug], [-q] or [-aq], as well as having some effects on the final segment itself.
- After vowels [-g] is added, and the final vowels are lengthened. If the word ends in a sequence of vowels, such as [ei], the final vowel is removed and the preceding vowel is lengthened.
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| tmtmu
|
tmtmu'-g
|
oyster
|
| plamu
|
plamu'-g
|
salmon
|
| miti
|
miti'-g
|
aspen, poplar
|
| sewlugowei
|
sewlugowe'-g
|
rhubarb
|
- Words ending in [n] and [l] always take the [-g] suffix, without any changes of length. Words ending in [j] also take the [-g] suffix, so long as the [j] is not preceded by another consonant (e.g., *migjigj-g, *gajuewj-g), and words ending in [s] take this suffix so long as they are multisyllabic (*e's-g).
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| taqate'l
|
taqate'l-g
|
currant
|
| tu'aqan
|
tu'aqan-g
|
ball
|
| amqwanji'j
|
amqwanji'j-g
|
spoon
|
| tmato's
|
tmato's-g
|
tomato
|
- We find the [-ig] suffix after monosyllabic words ending in [s], words ending in [t], and words ending in consonant clusters. Note that before [i], assimilation of place seems to occur for [t], resulting in its replacement with the segment [j] before the plural morpheme. (see phonology?)
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| e's
|
e's-ig
|
clam
|
| slaps
|
slaps-ig
|
slab (of wood)
|
| e'pit
|
e'pij-ig
|
woman
|
| sqolj
|
sqolj-ig
|
frog
|
| te'pulj
|
te'pulj-ig
|
goat
|
| epsaqtejg
|
epsaqtejg-ig
|
stove
|
- Words ending in [m] take the [-ug] variant of the plural suffix.
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| jin'm
|
jin'm-ug
|
man
|
| paqtesm
|
paqtesm-ug
|
wolf
|
| tia'm
|
tia'm-ug
|
moose
|
- The suffix [-aq] appears after labial consonants [p] and [gw], as well as replacing most word-final [aw] or [ow] sequences. (Note that this does not apply to word-final diphthongs in which the first vowel is long, such as tmoqta'w "log", plural tmoqta'w-g.)
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| sasap
|
sasap-aq
|
jellyfish
|
| sulumgw
|
sulumgw-aq
|
goose
|
| nasguaw
|
nasgu-aq
|
snowshoe
|
| guow
|
gu-aq
|
pine
|
- After [g] not in a consonant cluster, a [-g] is usually added, resulting in gemination. A [-q] also geminates in the animate plural due to assimilation in place of the [-g] ending.
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| alug
|
alug-g
|
oyster
|
| samqwano'q
|
samqwano'q-q
|
salmon
|
Exceptions
As yet, there are several unexplainable exceptions to the general rules of pluralization stated above. Notably, there seems to be a not-insignificant number of words whose plural is the -aq suffix ending in consonants other than [p] or [gw]. Some of the known violations of this rule are listed below.
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| muin
|
muin-aq
|
bear
|
| ga't
|
ga't-aq
|
eel
|
| gast'pl
|
gast'pl-aq
|
police officer
|
| gapiten
|
gapiten-aq
|
captain
|
| je'g
|
je'g-aq
|
Jack (in cards)
|
The last three examples in the table above are borrowed words, which perhaps excuses their unusual form of pluralization, but the first two seem to be traditional Mi'gmaq words. Fieldholtz (1963) analyzes these particular exceptions as underlyingly having the short vowel [a] on the end of the noun, with it being dropped in ordinary production but surfacing with the addition of the plural morpheme (e.g., muin is underlyingly [muina], ga't is underlyingly [ga'ta]). It does appear that [a]-final words are rare in Mi'gmaq, and no examples of [a]-final nouns have been encountered thus far, supporting the hypothesis that final [a]s could be deleted as a rule. However, there are not any other suffixation processes in which this underlying [a] surfaces - for example, the diminutive of muin is muin-ji'j, not *muina-ji'j. These particular exceptions to the pluralization rule should be examined in further detail to uncover any other possible morphological irregularities to account for their irregular plurals.
Beyond this somewhat large group of nouns unpredictably receiving the -aq suffix, there are a few known exceptions to pluralization rules with only one or two tokens each in violation of a particular rule; these will be listed below without any attempt at analysis.
| Singular form |
Attested plural form |
Expected plural form |
Gloss
|
| na'goqom
|
na'goqom-g
|
na'goqom-ug
|
ice skate
|
| lattolaw
|
lattolaw-g
|
lattol-aq
|
bull
|
| gjiaplue'w
|
gjiaplue'w-g
|
gjiaplue'w-ug
|
rascal
|
| la'sgw
|
la'sg-ug
|
la'sgw-aq
|
playing card
|
| gawatgw
|
gawatg-ug
|
gawatgw-aq
|
spruce tree
|
Inanimate
The inanimate plural is considerably simpler than the animate. The underlying form of the suffix is /-l/, which can surface as [-l], [-n], [-al] or [-ul].
- Vowel finals take the plain [-l] suffix, as do words ending in consonants [t], [s], [j], [g], [m] or [p]. As in the animate plural, words ending in the sequence [ei] show deletion of the final vowel and lengthening of the preceding one. Some single-vowel finals seem to show the same lengthening seen in the animate plural, while others do not; as yet there is no clear pattern as to which vowels lengthen and which do not (see p'towti vs. lnuipi).
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Morpheme |
Gloss
|
| p'towti
|
p'towti-l
|
-l (without vowel
lengthening)
|
table
|
| lnuipi
|
lnuipi'-l
|
-l (with vowel
lengthening)
|
native paddle
|
| alawei
|
alawe'-l
|
-l
|
pea
|
| magot
|
magot-l
|
-l
|
dress
|
| mapos
|
mapos-l
|
-l
|
pocket
|
| gmu'j
|
gmu'j-l
|
-l
|
stick, piece of wood
|
| gawaqtejg
|
gawaqtejg-l
|
-l
|
gooseberry
|
| wiguom
|
wiguom-l
|
-l
|
house
|
| lagga'p
|
lagga'p-l
|
-l
|
cellar
|
- Words ending in the consonant [n] show gemination in the inanimate plural. This is due to assimilation of [l] and [n], which is seen in several other processes in Mi'gmaq such as Obviation.
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| tepagan
|
tepagan-n
|
car
|
| pguman
|
pguman-n
|
blueberry
|
| sign
|
sign-n
|
stocking, sock
|
- For words ending in the vowel-glide sequence [ew], the final segments are replaced by the suffix [-al].
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| mussew
|
muss-al
|
piece
|
| guntew
|
gunt-al
|
rock
|
| maqamigew
|
maqamig-al
|
land
|
- Finally, words ending in the labialized consonant [gw] take the [-ul] suffix.
| Singular form |
Plural form |
Gloss
|
| llutaqanatgw
|
llutaqanatg-ul
|
fencepost
|
| egsitpu'gwewulgw
|
egsitpu'gwewulg-ul
|
rock
|
| seggw
|
segg-ul
|
sweet thing
|
Exceptions
There is one instance of a word ending in something other than [gw] taking the [-ul] suffix: galiulg, "sleigh" and galiulgul, "sleighs". This difference seems to be only orthographic, as the vowel [u] is not particularly audible when the plural of this word is pronounced.