Pluralisation Strategies in Emai

Abstract

This paper examined Emai's pluralization strategies. In addition to highlighting some of the features and differences that define the Emai plural system, it investigated the language's mechanisms for marking plurality on lexical items at the word level. Data for this study came from a number of sources, including five competent native speakers (three men and two women) who were recorded using a sound recorder, as well as published and unpublished resources on pluralization in other languages. This study is purely descriptive. The basic linguistic theory is used in the data analysis. The research found, among other things, that pluralization in Emai requires multiple strategies. The study revealed that Emai pluralizes nouns by using numerals; quantifiers like és, which mean "some," are also employed in this manner. Although the substitution varies, a noun's plural form is created by substituting its initial vowel in the singular form. Zero plural is also seen, when a word's singular form is preserved in the plural form, as well as reduplication, where a noun is duplicated in the plural form. Other procedures, including subtraction (reduction), in which a term or noun is diminished, are also used. It was also noted that pronouns in the language were pluralized through the process of suppletion, vowel substitution, and addition.