Similative plurals in Western Iranian languages
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30842/30346800.2026.2.1.4Keywords:
similative plural, heterogeneous plurals, Western Iranian languagesAbstract
This study investigates the encoding strategies and diachronic sources of similative plurals — constructions denoting ‘X and similar entities’ — in Western Iranian languages. Unlike ordinary plurals, the set formed by similative plurals is comprised of some heterogeneous members. While previous research on Western Iranian languages has predominantly examined ordinary and associative plurals, similative plurals remain understudied. Drawing on data from various languages and dialects across this branch, the present article identifies four major strategies for expressing similative plurals: (1) echo-reduplication, (2) a complementary system of echo-reduplication and suffixation, (3) the functional extension of the default plural suffix -hā to a similative marker, and (4) non-morphological constructions using lexical items meaning ‘thing’. In general, similative plural constructions are headed by a nominal bearing the [−animate] feature, most commonly denoting trivialization, mockery, or ridicule; in some instances, they may additionally convey an ironic interpretation. However, in Iranian languages, similative plurals may be deployed with nominals marked for the [+human] feature in specific contexts; in such cases, the construction conveys a pejorative meaning. The sole exception to this pattern is the use of the similative suffix -hâ with a proper noun head. Diachronic analysis shows that non-morphological similative markers predominantly originate from lexical sources — most commonly nouns meaning ‘thing’, whereas the ultimate source of morphological similative markers is unknown or only partially known such as Persian -hâ, which evolved from an adverbial derivational suffix into a plural marker before subsequently developing a similative function. This trajectory constitutes a typologically rare pathway of linguistic change.
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