Number: number
Number is an inflectional feature of nouns and pronouns.
Sing: singular number
A singular noun denotes one person, animal or thing.
Examples
- [ess] afsengaq “a/the vole (singular)”
- [ess] ataka “my father (singular)”
Dual: dual number
A dual noun denotes two persons, animals or things. Some Yupik nouns are inflected as dual when used to denote only one entity (known as conventional duals) (Jacobson 2001, p. 15).
Examples
- [ess] kaamg “skin boots (dual)”
- [ess] kiiwek “a/the river (conventional dual)”
Plur: plural number
A plural noun denotes several persons, animals or things. Plural nouns may be used for a single entity that has many components (Jacobson 2001, p. 16).
Examples
- [ess] aqelqa “guests (plural)”
- [ess] angyat “boats (plural) or a/the boat including its crew”
References
- Steven A. Jacobson. 2001. A Practical Grammar of the St. Lawrence Island / Siberian Yupik Eskimo Language, Preliminary Edition, 2nd edition. Alaska Native Language Center, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Number in other languages: [ab] [arr] [bej] [bg] [bm] [bor] [cs] [cy] [el] [en] [es] [ess] [eu] [fi] [fr] [ga] [gn] [gub] [hbo] [hu] [hy] [it] [ka] [ky] [myv] [orv] [pcm] [ps] [pt] [qpm] [ru] [sl] [sv] [tpn] [tr] [tt] [u] [uk] [urb] [urj] [xcl]