Comparative typology of English and Uzbek

1.8 Typological category of plurality

The system of grammatical forms expressing grammatical degree (number) is termed (called) the category of plurality. This category. In comparing languages the formants indicating this category are usually added to the stem of nouns (or pronouns). WE should distinguish the logical number (degree) and grammatical number. From the logical point of view proper nouns usually denote a single thing or a person. e.g.: John, Собир, London, Тўйтепа, etc. The common nouns are used to denote common type of things, of course, logically more than one.

As we know that the category of plurality denotes more than oneness of things, people or phenomena. Grammatically it can be based in English on the opposition of `zero morpheme and the suffix – s, – en, and root changing abilities of some nouns: i.e. – s, – en, in Uzbek it is based on the opposition of zero morpheme and suffix – лар, i.e. – лар. Among the parts of speech this category is distinguished grammatically by nouns, pronouns and verbs. In comparing languages this category may also be denoted lexically by numerals. (i.e. two, fifteen, thirty, thousand‑иккт, ўн беш, ўттиз, минг) Numerals are not used in the grammatical plural forms because in the plural form they became substantive zed i.e. they become nouns (икктлар, олтичилар).
It should be kept in mind that there are languages having `dual` and `trial` numbers pronouns – ic-wif-we where wit denoted a dual number)
Plurality of nouns. Uzbek nouns and pronouns usually denote this number by means of suffix – лар (eg: одам – лар, муттаҳам-лар) Which can sometimes be used also to denote respect to a person who is spoken about. e.g.: Дадамлар келдилар. (But you have to keep in mind that you can’t have mote than one father).
English nouns can express the notion of plurality in the following ways:
a) by means of suffixes:
– s, – es (wife-wives, head-heads)
– en (ox-oxen, child-children, brother-brotheren);
– a datum-data, sanatorium-sanatoria, phenomenon-phenomena) etc.
b) by changing the root vowel (man-men, goose-geese)