[Lingtyp] collapse/explode states of affairs, "aspectual number"

[Joseph Brooks]

I'm wondering if anyone knows of resources/has any insights regarding
verbal morphemes encoding an "aspectual number" sort of concept especially
as pertaining to collapse/explode types of events, along the lines of the
following (provisional) definition: 'multiplicity/distribution of smaller
events/changes in state resulting in or contributing to an overall larger,
unitary state or event'. In Chini (Lower Sepik-Ramu, PNG) a handful of
verbs (just five that I've found) take a morpheme (glossed "X" in the quick
examples below) that appears to encode this meaning or something similar:
its distribution is limited to such contexts and to relevant lexical verbs
including: 'grow (certain garden/domestic crops only); thunder', 'get up,
arise', 'go out (fire)', 'light (fire) (intr.)', and 'burst asunder,
explode, fall apart from rupture event' (e.g. a canoe, piece of bamboo used
for roasting food, etc).

(nyi) <cmh'i>chi-garii *
(PL) [<X>get.up-get.up-VOL.PL]
'(you all) get up!'

(nggu) chi-gii
(2DU) [get.up-VOL.PC]
'(you two) get up!'

Two things wrt why I've provisionally said "aspectual number" here and made
my query here in relation to that. (1) With the exception of the two
fire-related verbs, which do not distinguish verbal number, this affix
patterns (obligatorily) with the pluractional forms for the other three
but, never with any of the corresponding paucactional forms, as in the
above examples. Will add that at least in Chini, the number difference here
relates to big differences in the type of event, that is, in terms of how
events involving few vs many iterations (and, participants) are culturally
construed, so there's also more than meets the eye here where the semantics
are involved. (2) Wrt aspect, in Chini this affix <Cmh'V>, patterns very
similarly to the generalized imperfective suffix (-(C)M) both in terms of
position (both are root-adjacent) and form (both affixes contain a bilabial
nasal, and the C is component is formed in both by the same C harmony
principles). There's various things to be said regarding semantic types of
phasal imperfectives (esp. perhaps iteratives) here but none I can see
would seem to account for the distribution of this morpheme. To make a long
story short there is grounds in Chini to see this construction in relation
both to plur(action)al number and to imperfective aspect, in terms of
semantics but also broader patterns, and so I'm looking for anything
related which others might know of, especially any good grammars that might
describe comparable phenomena.

*NB Form-wise the affix is an alternation within the root, essentially an
infix, formed by partial reduplication of & also C harmony with the root.
(That it's an infix can only be seen in V-initial roots.) I've represented
barred i as <ii> here because the listserv turns IPA symbols into question
marks.

Thanks,
Joseph
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