When a Dual Marker Acts as a Paucal Marker: The Case of the Dual -e:n in Northern Rural Jordanian Arabic

Abstract

In this research paper, based on an acceptability judgment task, it is demonstrated that dual morphology can denote paucity in northern rural Jordanian Arabic (NRJA), asserting on Blanc and Brustad’s observation that some Arabic varieties have pseudo-dual (or unspecified dual), i.e., it may refer to numbers above two. It is shown that the dual morpheme -e:n in this dialect does not only refer to an exact (dual) number, but also to an approximative (paucal) number. This implies that the paucal category, which typically evolves from the plural category in natural languages, may likewise develop from the dual category. On this basis, the paucal is peculiar in Arabic, as it can be derived by (1) plural morphology as in Standard Arabic or (2) dual morphology, as in NRJA. In addition, the paper shows how the morphosyntax of the dual in NRJA yields either dual or paucal reading. Adopting Harbour’s number theory where the components of a number system are predicted by a set of bivalent number features under the number head #0, I show that the bivalent feature [±minimal] in the morphosyntax of the dual in NRJA is crucial to derive its two interpretations: [+minimal] yields the exact (dual) reading, whereas [-minimal] yields the approximative (paucal) reading. This analysis is expected to have intralingual usefulness. Specifically, it could be employed to plausibly derive the paucal category that is based on the dual category in other Arabic varieties, as descriptively reported in Blanc and Brustad’s studies. Furthermore, the observation that the dual category is the source of the paucal category has cross-linguistic implications. Particularly, it implies that the paucal category does not necessarily require the plural category to be derived in a language. Additionally, this observation asserts that languages tend to use lower numerals to assign a paucal reading to them, as is the case in French (e.g., deux ou trois).