Mismatch: morphosyntax: verbal number
Stems mark verbal number is marked by various morphological means (prefixation, suffixation and/or ablaut, depending on the root). In some cases, the same morphology marks dual for one root and plural for another, so that, arguably, these patterns represent a morphological reversal. The particular morphological configurations in question are:
a. | uu‑
|
root | ||
b. | uu‑ | root + ablaut | ||
c. | root + ablaut | |||
d. | t/sh‑ | uu‑ | root + ablaut | |
e. | t/sh‑ | root + ablaut | ‑sh |
For example, the prefix uu- forms the plural in 'call' but the dual in 'climb':
singular | dual | plural | |
qaas- | qaassh- | uu-qaas- | 'call' |
kuly- | uu-kuly- | ashuukly- | 'climb' |
while ablaut marks the plural in 'breathe' and the dual in 'die':
singular | dual | plural | |
uuyey- | uuyesh- | uyay- | 'breathe' |
puy- | pooy- | uupooy- | 'die' |
Note that in the case of 'die', both dual and plural are formed by morphological operations which are not unique to either number (dual = root ablaut, plural = u + root ablaut).
References
Gordon, Lynn. 1986. Maricopa morphology and syntax. University of California Publications in Linguistics 108. Berkeley: University of California Press.