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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">As to the term 'noun-verb disagreement', it may be useful to point out that the term is typically used in a formal way (involving overt manifestations of true or apparent number markers). It seems that -- from a semantic point of view -- the term 'number disagreement' (or 'number discord') is not always used appropriately. </font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">I have argued that languages with what I have called set nouns (as opposed to e.g. singular object nouns, which are typically attested in European languages), there is in fact no number disagreement. In these languages, the NP is headed by a transnumeral noun ('set noun'), which designates a property of a SET of entities (a set can have any number of members, incl. '1'). In such cases the agreement marker on the verb refers to the whole set (i.e. not to the number of individual members in the set), and since there is only one set, the agreement marker indicates singular number, as in (notice that some diacritics are missing):</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><u>Georgian</u> (Harris 1981: 22)</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">(1) <i>sami knuti goravs</i></font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"> three kitten roll:3SG</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"> 'three kittens are rolling'</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><u>Lango</u> (Noonan 1992: 168)</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">(2) <i>gulu adek otoo</i></font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"> pot three 3SG:die:PERF</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"> 'three pots broke'</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"><u>Oromo</u> (Stroomer 1987: 107)</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">(3) <i>gaala lamaani sookoo d'ak'-e</i></font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"> camel two market go-3SG.M.PAST</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;"> 'Two camels went to the market'</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">In each example, we see that a plural subject triggers singular agreement with the person/number marker on the verb (so not: a singular NP triggering plural number agreement on the verb - as in David's query). In my sample (50 lgs.), this phenomenon is only attested in languages with 'set nouns'. Properties of set nouns and other nominal subcategories (designating different 'Seinsarten') are discussed in more detail in my book on the noun phrase (OUP 2002/2004, pages 104-117; see also my article 'On flexible and rigid nouns', <i>Studies on Language</i> (2008) 32-3).</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">So the point is: if reference is made to a set entity, it does not seem correct to talk about 'number'** disagreement from a semantic point of view, since the agreement marker on the predicate may refer to just the set (singular) or to the size of the set (singular agreement in the case of a singleton set, otherwise plural agreement). </font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">** I write 'number' (i.e. with single quote marks), because I believe that the so-called number marker on a set noun does not specify a number value (SG/PL), but a kind distinction (i.e. we are actually dealing with a 'nominal aspect marker'): the speaker indicates what KIND of set is being referred to (e.g. a singleton set or a collective set).</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:12pt;color:#000000;">Best - Jan Rijkhoff</font></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Lucida Grande" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Lucida Grande;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;"><b>Balthasar Bickel <<a href="mailto:autotype@UNI-LEIPZIG.DE">autotype@UNI-LEIPZIG.DE</a>> writes:</b></font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">David -- since you also asked for negative data: Belhare (Kiranti, Sinotibetan) does not allow ASPD. I tested this when exploring other </font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">effects of 'disagreement'. (Disagreement in number, with a singular NP and a nonsingular agreement marker, results in meanings like 'one of them laughed'. I have a paper on this in Studies in Language, 2000).</font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;"> -- Balthasar.</font></span></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">On Nov 13 2008, at 15:53, David Gil wrote:</font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> Dear all,</font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">></font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> I am interested in the cross-linguistic distribution of a </font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> construction type in which an associative plural meaning, eg. 'John </font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> and his associates', results from a singular noun triggering plural </font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> number agreement on the verb,</font></span><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;"> .....</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">></font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> Thanks and best wishes,</font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">></font></span></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><span style="background-color:#d0d0d0;"><font face="Arial" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">> David</font></span></div>
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<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Jan Rijkhoff</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Dept. of Linguistics, University of Aarhus</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">Ndr. Ringgade 1, Building 1410, Office 338</font></div>
<div align="left" style="text-align:left;"><font face="Geneva" size="+0" color="#000000" style="font-family:Geneva;font-size:10pt;color:#000000;">DK-8000 Aarhus C, DENMARK</font></div>
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