Pluralization In Bodo: A Morphosyntactic Analysis

Abstract

Pluralization is a fundamental grammatical process that marks the distinction between singular and multiple entities. In Bodo, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken predominantly in Assam, India, pluralization is realized through multiple morphological and syntactic strategies. This paper provides a descriptive and analytical account of plural formation in Bodo, with special reference to suffixation, reduplication, and the use of multitude-denoting words. Suffixation is the primary method for human and animate nouns, inanimate nouns often rely on numeral-classifier constructions or context, reflecting optional plural marking, a characteristic common in Tibeto-Burman languages. Reduplication, though less frequent, conveys collective or distributive meanings. Data were collected from native Bodo speakers and published textual sources. This study contributes to the documentation of Bodo grammar.