| Summary: |
We report on an experiment designed to shed light on the factors determining which forms of the Maltese numerals 2–10 occur in specific contexts, noting that there is little consensus on this topic in the previous literature.
We focus on the properties of plural nouns that determine whether a preceding numeral takes a ‘bare’ form, as in żewġ ‘two’, or a /t/-form, as in żewġt. The key finding is that the type of onset of the plural noun is the main determining factor, with number of syllables and perhaps also the sound/broken-plural distinction contributing secondarily.
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