The DP-adjoined plural in Yucatec Maya and the syntax of plural marking

This paper provides an analysis of the syntax of optional plural marking in Yucatec Maya. I argue that plural morphology does not head a functional number projection as has been proposed for a variety of well-known languages, rather it merges as an adjoined modifier to the Determiner Phrase. This analysis explains a number of otherwise curious facts about plural marking in Yucatec Maya: the non-obligatoriness of plural morphology for plural interpretation; plural morphology co-occurring with numeral classifiers; the licensing of bare plurals; the lack of number agreement; a restriction on plural marking on pre-nominal adjectives; the position of plural morphology outside of agreement morphology; and the rise of definiteness and specificity effects with the occurrence of plural marking. I discuss how this analysis of plural marking as a syntactic modifier to DP fits into the typology of the syntax of plurals (Wiltschko, 2008) and has important implications for theories of nominal denotation, number agreement and the status of plural morphology vis-à-vis generalized classifier systems.