Quantifying Constructions in Diraytata

Abstract

This paper discusses the linguistic phenomena that implicate quantification in the nominal domain in Diraytata, a member of the Konsoid language subgroup of the Lowland East Cushitic branch spoken in Ethiopia. The data for the present study was collected from Diraashe district during a two months field trip to the area in 2016. The study found that though Diraytata is not a classifier language, it has constituents whose functions are similar to that of classifiers. Count nouns can be directly quantified by numerals and non-count nouns must take classifiers when they are quantified. Moreover, classifiers, in Diraytata, do not take plural marking, they occur immediately following the noun without being mediated by adposition.