Singulative number facts for kids
In linguistics, singulative number and collective number are special ways languages talk about groups of things or single items.
Usually, in languages like English, we have a singular form for one item (like "cat") and a plural form for many items (like "cats"). We add something (like an "s") to make it plural.
But with singulative and collective numbers, it's often the other way around! The basic form of the word might mean a whole group of things (the collective), and you add something to it to talk about just one item (the singulative).
Sometimes, languages even have a third way to talk about groups, called the plurative. This is used when you want to talk about individual items within a group, rather than the group as a whole.
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How Languages Use Them
Let's look at some examples to make this clearer!
Welsh Language
Welsh is a language that uses both the usual singular-plural system and the collective-singulative system.
In Welsh, plurals can be tricky. They can be made by:
- Adding an ending to the word, like -au. For example, tad (father) becomes tadau (fathers).
- Changing a vowel sound inside the word. For example, bachgen (boy) becomes bechgyn (boys).
- A mix of both! For example, chwaer (sister) becomes chwiorydd (sisters).
But some Welsh words use the collective-singulative system. These words often describe things that are usually found in groups. To make them singulative (meaning one item), they add endings like -yn (for masculine words) or -en (for feminine words).
Here are some examples:
- adar means "birds" or "a flock of birds" (collective). To say "a bird," you add -yn to get aderyn (singulative).
- mefus means "a bed of strawberries" (collective). To say "a strawberry," you add -en to get mefusen (singulative).
- plant means "children" (collective). To say "a child," you add -yn to get plentyn (singulative).
- coed means "forest" (collective). To say "a tree," you add -en to get coeden (singulative).
When we translate Welsh collective nouns into English, we usually use the plural. For example, mefus becomes "strawberries." But the Welsh collective can also mean a group that feels like one big thing, which English plurals don't always show. Think of the difference between "leaves" and "foliage" – "foliage" feels more like one whole thing.
Other Languages with Singulatives
Singulative forms are also found in some Semitic languages (like Arabic) and Slavic languages (like Russian or Ukrainian).
Arabic Language
In Arabic grammar, the singulative is called "noun of unity." It's made by adding endings like ة (pronounced like -a(t)) or ي (pronounced like -ī).
- The ة ending is used for animals, plants, and objects:
* قمح qamḥ means "wheat" (collective). قمحة qamḥa(t) means "a grain of wheat" (singulative). * شجر shajar means "trees" (collective). شجرة shajara(t) means "a tree" (singulative). * بقر baqar means "cattle" (collective). بقرة baqara(t) means "a cow" (singulative).
- The ي ending is used for people or beings that can think:
* جن jinn (collective, meaning a group of jinn). جني jinnī (singulative, meaning one jinn). * زنج zinj means "black African people" (collective). زنجى zinjī means "a black African person" (singulative).
Sometimes, the singulative form in Arabic can even be made plural again!
- جند jund means "army" (collective).
- جندي jundī means "a soldier" (singulative).
- جنود junūd means "soldiers" (plural of the singulative).
East Slavic Languages
In East Slavic languages (like Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), which mostly use the singular-plural system, a special ending like -ин- (in Russian) or -ин- (in Ukrainian and Belarusian) can make a collective noun into a singulative one.
- Russian: gorokh means "peas" (as a mass). goroshina means "a single pea."
- Ukrainian: пісок/pisok means "sand." піщина/pischyna means "a grain of sand."
- Belarusian: бульба means "potatoes" (as a crop). бульбіна means "one potato."
Notice that these singulative forms can then be made plural in the usual way. For example, goroshina (a single pea) can become goroshiny (several peas).
Other Examples
- The Majang language in Africa has ŋɛɛti for "lice" (collective) and ŋɛɛti-n for "louse" (singulative).
- In Dutch, sometimes a diminutive (a small-making ending) can create a singulative. For example, snoep means "sweets" or "candy" (collective). snoepje means "a sweet" or "a piece of candy" (singulative). These singulatives can also be made plural, like snoepjes (several sweets).
Collective Nouns and Mass Nouns
A collective form, like the Welsh moch ("pigs"), is often seen as the basic form. It's like how we use "pork" (which comes from "pig meat") to talk about the meat from pigs.
These collective forms are similar to mass nouns in English, like "rice." "Rice" refers to a collection of grains, even though we don't usually count individual grains of rice. English doesn't have a common way to make singulative nouns from mass nouns (we say "a grain of rice" instead of a single word). So, English doesn't really have singulative numbers.
What is a Plurative?
Sometimes, a third form called the "plurative" is used.
- The collective form talks about multiple items as a general group or class.
- The plurative form talks about them as individual units.
Think about the English word "people."
- "People are funny" uses "people" in a collective sense (humans in general).
- "The people in this room" uses "people" to mean individual persons.
Even though English uses the same word, some languages have different forms for these ideas.
For example, in Arabic, for samak (fish):
- samak (collective form): "fish" in general.
- samak-at (singulative): "a single fish."
- ʔasmaak (plurative): "many fish" or "three fish" (focusing on individual fish).
See also
