Universals in the syntax of cardinal numerals

Abstract The cardinal numerals of Russian cannot be assigned to discrete syntactic categories; they form a continuum from those like adjectives to those like nouns. ‘Nouniness’ increases with numerical value. They can all be generated from an underlying structure similar to that suggested by Perlmutter and Cresnik consisting of two NPs (but lacking the genitive marker, for there is strong evidence that the genitive marker should be inserted only in certain circumstances). The Russian situation appears to be general; two universals are proposed: firstly, that the syntactic behaviour of cardinal numerals falls between that of adjectives and nouns and, secondly, that if numerals vary in behaviour then the higher will be nounier. Evidence to support these universals can be drawn from various phenomena: agreement, possible plurality of the number, case marking of the noun, 1-Deletion, word-order, number of the quantified noun, and the rules of distribution and deletion. The data are taken from a wide range of languages.