Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma

D I S C U S S I O N S RAMUNĖ VASKELAITĖ Bank of Lithuania THE USE OF PLURAL ABSTRACT NOUNS IN THE LANGUAGE OF ECONOMICS AND THE STANDARD KEYWORDS: singularia tantum nouns, abstract nouns, inflection for number, concretization of meaning, derivatives, standard, usage. INTRODUCTION The standard use of noun number would hardly be very problematic if it were not for nouns whose prescribed standard allows only one number—singular or plural—or the use of one number under certain circumstances. Those circumstances are specified in the booklet Language Advice, titled Grammatical Forms and Their Use, which sets out the standard for number usage: singular forms are considered unacceptable in standard Lithuanian when used to refer non-generically to a plant, animal, or similar species, to more than one person, or in naming events, places, and other things (KP1 2002: 19–20). In actual usage, however, there is a tendency to choose the singular in precisely such cases (KPIB 1995–2005). Insightful studies of the relationship between non-standard language phenomena and the codified standard, perhaps most actively pursued in Lithuanian linguistics by Rita Miliūnaitė (2002; 2003a, b, c; 2004; 2006a, b; 2007), reveal that persistent resistance in usage to one or another norm established in writing should not be hastily labeled a violation of that norm or a lack of competence in the standard language. Sometimes such resistance merely points to syntactic, semantic, or other circumstances embedded in the deeper structure of language that language standardizers have not discerned, or have not sufficiently 190 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 … assessed. Therefore, attention should be paid to some of the nonstandard usages that have become widespread, and they should be examined more closely; once it becomes clear that there are compelling reasons, the codified norm might even need to be changed. The article examines a tendency often observed in usage: nouns treated as singular are used in the plural form. It focuses on one subgroup of such nouns, namely abstract nouns. The relevance of this issue is demonstrated by an area of standard-language use that has been observed for a considerable time—economic language. In it, transfers, payments, settlements, calculations, fluctuations, obligations, capacities, risks, threats, crises, deficits, budgets, balances, economies, economic activities, levels, volumes, values and other nouns with apparently abstract meanings are used abundantly, even though in Kalbos patarimai, which sets out the standard-language norm, the plural of singular abstract nouns is rated at the most negative of the four levels used in that publication to indicate how a linguistic phenomenon relates to the norm—the label ntk. (“not recommended”), meaning that the phenomenon is not recommended in standard language (KP1 2002: 20). Nevertheless, one should not be quick to regard this discrepancy as a conflict between usage and the norm: Kalbos patarimai allows for two exceptions. However, one of them—the use of the plural of abstract nouns as a stylistic means of emphasizing abundance—cannot apply to the usage under consideration. Texts in the formal, informational style were examined; in places, they even approach the scholarly style, and therefore emotional and expressive devices are not characteristic of their language. As the boundaries between styles and genres become less distinct, such devices do occur, but no instances of the plural used to emphasize abundance were found. These texts provide factual descriptions and analyses of economic processes that took place over a given period (a year, half-year, or quarter), so precision is much more important here than expressiveness. Although these texts are officially referred to variously as reviews and reports, for convenience this article collectively calls them economic reviews. Once the exception for emphasizing abundance is set aside, the only factor that Kalbos patarimai recognizes as justifying the plural of abstract nouns is a concretization of the noun’s meaning. The norm would seem straightforward: if a noun with an abstract meaning has become concrete in meaning, its plural is acceptable; if not, using the plural violates the norm. But is the boundary between norm and error really so clear? In drawing it, are all the factors that encourage the use of the plural form adequately taken into account? An examination of usage tendencies should help reveal this; before turning to it, however, the norm for the use of number with abstract nouns, as formulated both in Kalbos patarimai and in other prescriptive works, should be discussed in greater detail. R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 191 1. CODIFIED NORM AND ENVISAGED EXCEPTIONS On the number of abstract nouns, Kalbos patarimai formulates the following statement: “the plural is ntk. = singular when the noun is abstract, denotes indivisible (uncountable) things, and is singular” (KP1 2002: 20). The concepts of an abstract, singular noun or a noun denoting indivisible (uncountable) things are not defined either in the booklet that sets out the norm for number usage, Gramatikos formos ir jų vartojimas, or in other booklets in the series. Of course, defining them is not the purpose of a publication of this kind; but without explaining what meaning is assigned to them, there is a risk that the statement will be interpreted in two ways: 1) the plural is not recommended when the noun meets all three conditions (it is abstract, singular, and denotes indivisible or uncountable things); 2) the plural is not recommended when the noun meets any one of the conditions. We would find no answer as to how this statement should be interpreted in descriptions of number in Lithuanian nouns; those descriptions would show that neither interpretation is possible. They generally present a classification in which abstract nouns are treated as one subgroup of singular nouns1, the latter being one of the groups of nouns that do not inflect for number and are identified with nouns denoting things that cannot be counted (Jakaitienė et al. 1976: 36–41; Paulauskienė 1983: 166–167; 1994: 149–150; 2004a: 148–149; 2006: 73–77; Paulauskienė, Tarvydaitė 1986: 67–77; DLKG 1997: 65–68). It would be illogical to first classify one subgroup and then the entire group as not recommended. Thus, the statement in Kalbos patarimai is based not on the classification of nouns by number, but on their general division into concrete and abstract nouns; among the abstract nouns, it recommends avoiding the plural form for singular nouns. Only the third condition for not recommending the form is unclear—that the noun must also denote indivisible (uncountable) things. According to the classification mentioned above, all singular nouns denote 1 Other subgroups are identified inconsistently: some sources also distinguish collective nouns (augalija, aukštuomenė, inteligentija), proper nouns (Lietuva, Kaunas, Klaipėda), and nouns denoting materials (actas, auksas, betonas) (Jakaitienė et al. 1976: 38; DLKG 1997: 66); elsewhere, a subgroup of disease names is added (gripas, kokliušas, sloga) (Paulauskienė, Tarvydaitė 1986: 74), and names of the cardinal directions and winds are listed separately (pietys, rytys, šiaurys) (LKŽin 1998: 100; Paulauskienė 1994: 150; 2004b: 300–301; 2006: 74). Noting that both singularia tantum and pluralia tantum nouns often have the same meanings, Adelė Valeckienė presents a general classification that encompasses both types of noun (Valeckienė 1998: 218–219). 192 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 indivisible (uncountable) things, whereas those denoting divisible (countable) things are no longer singular. Thus, the qualification in Kalbos patarimai would seem unnecessary. Unless it is intended to convey some meaning that simply has not been explored here, the norm formulated in that publication can be summarized as follows: the plural of singular abstract nouns is not recommended in standard language, except when used to emphasize abundance or when the noun’s meaning becomes concrete. Some language-culture manuals do not mention the exception for concretization of meaning; for formal styles, they advise against using the plural form of any singular noun, including abstract nouns. For example, in Jonas Šukys’s book Kalbos kultūra visiems, we read: “In formal styles of language, the plural of singular nouns should not be used, especially if the nouns are abstract and denote indivisible things” (Šukys 2003: 105), while Aldona Paulauskienė’s Lietuvių kalbos kultūroje states that the plural of singular nouns is unsuitable in neutral style (Paulauskienė 2004a: 152). In the principal description of the morphological forms of contemporary Lithuanian, Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatikoje (DLKG), an exception for concretization of meaning is envisaged: “Sometimes abstract nouns become concrete, and they come to denote not only generalized actions, states, and properties, but also specific manifestations of those actions, states, and properties. An abstract singular noun may then also be used in the plural, cf.: džiaugsmas – džiaugsmai, rūpestis – rūpesčiai, skausmas – skausmai” (DLKG 1997: 62). However, the wording in the DLKG makes it clear that concretization can occur to varying degrees: a noun may not only acquire a new meaning, but also take on a particular nuance of meaning (DLKG 1997: 66). The acceptability of the plural is explicitly stated only for nouns that have “become concrete,” but the explanation of “concretization” suggests that the term could also cover less marked cases of semantic change. The DLKG gives no clear formulation as to whether the plural is acceptable only for words that differ from an abstract noun by a slight degree of concreteness. Yet even if it did, the norm would still not be entirely clear, since neither the DLKG nor other prescriptive publications provide lists of abstract and concrete nouns, let alone nouns that have acquired only some degree of concreteness. Neither abstractness of meaning nor its varying degrees of concretization are marked in dictionaries. In such circumstances, usage is left entirely to decide how much concreteness to attribute to an abstract noun. But even if R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 193 however much it may be granted when only the outer limits of the norm and the boundaries of error are indicated, even the use of plural forms of nouns that have acquired the slightest shade of concreteness cannot be considered a violation of the norm. Of course, it is not easy to define the degree to which a meaning becomes concrete. Drawing attention to this, R. Miliūnaitė considers the opposition between concreteness and abstractness one of those that make it impossible to draw a clearer boundary between standard and nonstandard language phenomena, and one of the reasons for distinguishing not only cases acceptable and unacceptable in the standard language, but also intermediate cases (Miliūnaitė 2003a, b). Kalbos patarimuose, a system of intermediate cases is indeed applied: in addition to acceptable and unacceptable cases, cases to be avoided and secondary norm variants are also distinguished. However, when assessing the number of abstract nouns, only the outer limits are drawn: the plural of a purely singular abstract noun is considered an error, whereas that of one whose meaning has become concrete is considered standard. It would seem, then, that the possibility of choosing intermediate cases is neither rejected nor acknowledged. In the normative work Gramatikos normos ir dabartinė vartosena, published almost three decades ago, another criterion was proposed in addition to the criterion of a meaning becoming concrete: how characteristic the use of a noun in the plural is of the Lithuanian language (Paulauskienė, Tarvydaitė 1986). For example, doubts were raised about the acceptability of the pedagogical term mokėjimai and medžiagų2, which was gaining currency in journalism at the time, because these were recognized as direct translations from Russian; by contrast, use of pajėgumams with a meaning that had become concrete came to be endorsed (Paulauskienė, Tarvydaitė 1986: 76–77). In later works by a co-author of that publication, even pajėgumai, apimtys are called calques (Paulauskienė 2004a: 152; 2004b: 304). Two decades after the publication appeared, Ramunė Kasperavičienė’s article identified the influence of English as well as Russian (Kasperavičienė 2006: 217). It is this influence that is cited in the Consultation Bank compiled by the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language as the basis for correcting the abstract pardavimai: the form is said to have arisen under the influence of English, specifically English sales (see http://www.vlkk.lt/lit/2331). Lithuanian normative publications do not envisage any further reasons, apart from a meaning becoming concrete and stylistic considerations, to justify the plural of singular abstract nouns. Morphological descriptions allude to one or another additional motivation when discussing singular nouns in other subgroups. Their plural is described as expressing a state, 2 Current usage would suggest that the term medžiagos, which two and a half decades ago was used as a general designation for articles, news items, and reports, has at least disappeared from public discourse. 194 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 būdingą ne vienam kartui, rodanti būsenos tęstinumą (Paulauskienė 1989: 166; 2004b: 305). A. Paulauskienės Lietuvių kalbos kultūroje atskirai minimi du atvejai, kai daugiskaitos forma pavartota dėl šalia einančių žodžių, nurodančių daugiau nei vieną objektą: Jis išgelbėjo ne vieno žmogaus gyvybes; Iki rugpjūčio pradžios reikia baigti mokyklų remontus (Paulauskienė 2004a: 152). Tokia daugiskaita laikoma neteiktina, bet šie atvejai išsamiau nenagrinėjami. Tvirtai laikantis nuostatos, kad vienaskaitiniai abstraktieji daiktavardžiai skaičiais nekaitomi, kad jų daugiskaita yra ne kait ymo, o leksinės reikšmės skirtumo požymis, pabrėžiama visuose autorės vienos ar su bendraautorėmis rašytuose darbuose (Paulauskienė 1983, 1989, 1994, 2004a, 2004b, 2006; Jakaitienė ir kt. 1976; Paulauskienė, Tarvydaitė 1986), šie atvejai įvardijami kaip paprasčiausias neapdairumas rašant, praleidimas redaguojant tekstą; vis dėlto tenka pridurti, kad kartais ir gyvybes, ir remontus žmonės suskaičiuoja (Paulauskienė 2004a: 152). Two articles from recent years on trends in number usage mention further motivations for using abstract nouns in the plural. R. Kasperavičienė links the plural of some nouns (džiaugsmai, verksmai) to the need to express intensity, while she considers the plural of others (gripai, skausmai, lietūs, darganos, sniegai) to indicate recurrence (Kasperavičienė 2006: 218–219). It is true that the need to emphasize recurrence as a factor supporting the plural is not examined in detail, and the fact that only examples from fiction are provided suggests that such a plural is considered a literary expressive device. The need to emphasize recurrence with abstract nouns, more specifically nouns with the suffix -imas (-ymas), is directly discussed in Rasuolė Vladarskienė’s (2008) article. The acceptability of this kind of plural is questioned to some extent, but the use of plural forms is not considered impossible for nouns denoting an abstract thing that can be divided, comes in various kinds, or can be counted. Unlike the aforementioned morphological descriptions, this article provides examples from formal administrative style rather than literary writing. In general, the author shows that the plural of nouns previously considered abstract is no longer an isolated phenomenon in contemporary Lithuanian; its use is described as a tendency (Vladarskienė 2008: 125). This current tendency will be examined here on the basis of usage in the field of economics. The analysis focuses on factors that encourage or sustain the use of nouns considered abstract in the plural. R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 195 2. USAGE CHARACTERISTICS AND FACTORS 2.1. Plural forms of typical abstracts The most typical abstracts are generally considered to be deverbal derivatives formed with the suffix -imas. The DLKG recognizes that this suffix is the most productive of the affixes used to form abstracts, and that its derivatives are used with a very clear and pure meaning of an action name (DLKG 1997: 94)3. The productivity of the suffix -ymas, regarded as a variant of the same abstract-forming pattern, is acknowledged to be more limited (DLKG 1997: 95). The abundance of nouns with these suffixes, at least in administrative language, was noted nearly twenty years ago (Ogin­skienė 1994). This was linked to the influence of foreign languages, but the productivity of the word-formation pattern should also be considered a no less significant cause of the spread of such nouns. Nevertheless, the fact that a word has the suffix most typical of abstracts does not mean that it is an abstract. Some derivatives with the suffix -imas (-ymas) have become fully concrete, i.e. undergone semantic changes4. Some are used with the meaning of an event, or more precisely, a particular gathering. In economic reviews, the nouns most frequently used with this meaning are minėjimas, pasitarimas, susirinkimas, susitikimas, suvažiavimas, svarstymas, for example: The Board of Governors usually meets twice a year—at the spring and annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank Groupsusitikimus (LBMA 2012 05: 68); At these susitikimuose she also identified issues that needed to be included on the agenda of the ESCB Social Dialogue Working Group susirinkimų agenda (MA 2011: 206); In addition, consultations were held between ECB experts and Members of the European Parliament pasitarimai on various matters within the ECB’s remit (MA 2008: 184). Fully concretized derivatives with the suffix -imas (-ymas), denoting a written text, are also familiar in the usage under examination. These are mostly document names: įsakymas, įstatymas, nurodymas, nutarimas, pažymėjimas, pranešimas, sprendimas, etc. When it is necessary to indicate that there is more than one document, the plural form is used, for example: The necessary įstatymai, so that Denmark’s deposit insurance system complies with the prohibition on monetary financing (MA 2011: 118); The Governing Council also drew attention, among other things, to 3In view of the productivity of this word-formation pattern and the proximity of action names (nomina actionis) to the verb form, it has even been proposed that such derivatives be given a special place in grammatical descriptions (Pakerys 2006). 4Zofija Babickienė (2012) examines in detail the regular semantic changes in deverbal abstracts and their patterns. 196 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 some governments’ pareiškimus concerning measures and reforms in the areas of fiscal and structural policy (MA 2012: 15). Such nouns inflect for number in the same way as other nouns with concrete meanings. Thus, their plural is the result of number inflection and, at the same time, a significant incentive for the spread of the plural forms of other derivatives with the suffix -imas (-ymas). In economic language, the plural is also used for nouns with the suffix -imas (-ymas) that can generally be characterized as having the meaning of an action’s result or object. In the sentence Each country’s banking system could offset the value of outgoing payments related to the net imports of goods and services or receipts from the acquisition of assets from another euro area country (MA 2012: 35), the noun mokėjimai is used to denote the object of an action, whereas the noun pervedimai, used in the sentence EU transfers in the first quarter of 2012 were higher than in the previous quarter (LEA 2012 08: 12), should more likely be associated with the result of an action5. Regardless of which of these meanings such nouns are used with, they are much more concrete than pure abstracts—nouns meaning an action name. For instance, in terms of degree of concreteness, mokėjimai would correspond to prefixed or suffixed derivatives mokesčiai, įmokos, while pervedimai would correspond to the derivative perlaidos, or similar forms. The account of noun formation in the DLKG shows that Lithuanian is indeed more characteristically inclined to name the result or object of an action not with derivatives in the suffix -imas (-ymas), but with words formed using other suffixes or by means of ending-based derivation (DLKG 1997: 125–128). It has been proposed that the meanings of word-formation patterns be specialized, i.e. that derivatives with the suffix -imas (-ymas) be used only to denote an action, while the result of an action (and the system of certain actions, or a field of activity) be expressed not by verbal nouns with a pure action meaning, but by derivatives formed with other suffixes (or prefixes or endings) (Oginskienė 1994: 56). Unfortunately, this recommendation cannot always be followed in the usage under examination, because derivatives with other suffixes or prefixes are usually “taken,” that is, used in the same field as terms with other meanings, while it is important to preserve the connection with the base verb denoting the action. Derivatives sharing a root with the noun mokėjimas have acquired other meanings in economic language: įmoka, mokestis; perhaps this is why mokėjimai has also become widespread in the meaning of sums paid. 5In distinguishing semantic patterns of deverbal abstracts, Z. Babickienė notes that Lithuanian linguistics customarily includes among action-result nouns those deverbal abstracts that could be called names of action objects, and distinguishes a separate semantic pattern, nomina objectum (Babickienė 2012: 20). R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 197 There are no words sharing a common root with the nouns settlements, liabilities, transfers in use in the language of economics, so it would be possible to form derivatives, but the base verb is itself a derivative, and therefore forming other derivatives from it is not easy, or may even be entirely impossible. This, apparently, is also a factor sustaining the spread of nouns with a suffix characteristic of abstract nouns, used with the meaning of an object or result of an action. Of course, these nouns could be called abstract nouns only in a qualified sense, since they have become concrete. Their meaning differs from that of pure abstract nouns, and this difference in meaning is indicated precisely by the noun’s use in the plural form. In these cases, the plural is not a result of nouns being inflected for number, but of the differentiation of meaning. In usage, quite a number of nouns in this group have acquired the status of terms. Such terms, most often as components of other terms, have also been included in dictionaries of economic terminology. For instance, one of the most recent works of this kind, D. W. Pearce’s Explanatory English–Lithuanian Dictionary of Economics (AETŽ)6, includes balance of payments (AETŽ 2006: 205–207), international payments system (AETŽ 2006: 154), transfer problem (AETŽ 2006: 628), immediate settlements market (AETŽ 2006: 588), forward settlement transaction, forward settlements market (AETŽ 2006: 251), liabilities (AETŽ 2006: 362), current liabilities (AETŽ 2006: 148), hiring (AETŽ 2006: 195), import restrictions (AETŽ 2006: 290), rational delays (AETŽ 2006: 532), and others. Many more terms in the plural form are used in that dictionary in explaining concepts. They are also included in the Register of Terms of the Republic of Lithuania, maintained by the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language: settlement risk; settlement account; settlement intermediary; current transfers; economic fluctuations; liabilities to an investor; balance of payments; use of the state budget, accounting and payments system; short-term liabilities; state budget, accounting and payments system; operating segment liabilities, and others (LRTB 2012). Actual usage confirms that nouns with the suffix -imas (–ymas) in the plural form are not found only in terminology dictionaries. Transfers, 6 Economics is the field whose terminology has undergone one of the greatest upheavals. For 50 years, Lithuania had neither a free-market economy nor its terminology. After independence was restored, English terms began pouring in. Attempts were made to manage this influx by translating English terminology dictionaries, but, in the absence of a tradition of using the terms, the Lithuanian equivalents selected were not always the most accurate in terms of subject matter and linguistic correctness. This translated dictionary stands out because most of the terms it contains have been verified in usage and assessed by language specialists—the Institute of the Lithuanian Language’s Department of Terminology contributed to its preparation. 198 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 current transfers, capital transfers, migrant transfers are probably the principal concepts in the balance of payments of the Republic of Lithuania—a statistical report summarizing all external transactions in which the country participates over a given period—and the title of this report shows that payments also has the status of a term. Since government transactions are inextricably linked to other economic processes, such terms are among the key concepts in any economic overview. They are used in more or less specific senses, for example: Current transfers consist essentially of non-investment payments from EU funds flows and transfers from emigrants, and thus significantly improve the current account balance (LEA 2011 11: 10); The largest increase in expenditure was driven by current and capital transfers, which rose by a third over the year current and capital transfers, interest payments, which were 10 percent higher interest payments, and compensation for employees, which increased by almost 2 percent (Pranešimas 2012 05: 20). Almost no economic overview can do without settlements, liabilities, sales, fluctuations, for example: By applying the PvP mechanism, the CLS system essentially eliminates the principal risk associated with settlements of foreign exchange transactions (MA 2011: 149); The revocation of the license of AB bank SNORAS may also reduce credit growth in Lithuania, since this bank’s lending liabilities amounted to 3–4 percent of the entire banking system’s lending liabilities in 2007–2011 (Pranešimas 2011 12: 16); As orders and sales increase in both domestic and foreign markets, the utilization rate of existing production capacity remains high (LEA 2012 08: 21). The establishment of certain formally expressed words as terms and their recognition in dictionaries is, of course, an incentive to coin more such terms. Given this situation, it is easy to understand why attempts to correct the noun sales have been so ineffective (see Paulauskienė, Tarvydaitė 1986: 75; KP1 2002: 20; Šukys 2003: 105; Kasperavičienė 2006: 218). Following the principle of analogy, usage is simply aligning this noun with the general system, especially since the antonymic noun purchases7 is established as a term in the Public Procurement Law of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Public Procurement Office is also in operation. The term public procurement is included in Rūta Vainienė’s Dictionary of Economic Terms (Vainienė 2005: 287). The aforementioned AETŽ, meanwhile, includes sales tax, sales maximization hypothesis and sales as components of terms (AETŽ 2006: 557). From the entries in that dictionary 7 In 1999, an attempt was made to change the title of this law to the Public Procurement Law of the Republic of Lithuania, but later versions reverted to the plural purchases. R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 199 From the explanation of the concept advertising-to-sales ratio (“the ratio of a company’s advertising expenditure to its total sales revenue”), it is clear that the noun sales is used to mean “sales revenue” (AETŽ 2006: 24). In usage, most other nouns with the suffix -imas (-ymas) that have become established in the plural form are likewise associated specifically with a certain sum of funds (transferred, paid, etc.), for example: In 2010, the ECB received four payments on behalf of the EU and transferred these amounts to the borrower countries (MA 2011: 122); Higher taxes and lower government sector transfers reduce the disposable income of households and businesses (MA 2011: 74). Thus, both in meaning and function, the noun sales fits within an entire group of terms. It is true that examples are provided when correcting it (The company is offering a job for a software sales (=sales) manager (KP1 2002: 20); One of the largest manufacturers of plastic windows is offering a job in Vilnius for a sales (=sales) manager (Kasperavičienė 2006: 218)) would suggest a tendency to correct the noun when it is used to mean the pure action name. Nevertheless, in the examples given, the plural is more readily associated not so much with the action name as with its repetition. This dual meaning of the noun’s plural also accords with the usage tendencies of other nouns with the suffix -imas (-ymas) in the language of economics. After all, transfers, settlements, payments are not always associated solely with a sum of funds either. Often they denote a repeated action, more precisely, a transaction, or several identical actions, for example: T2S will enable the execution of both domestic and international settlements in euros (LBMA 2008: 74); The Eurosystem applies clearly defined oversight policy provisions to all large-value payment systems that execute settlements in euros (MA 2010: 142); Many payments continued to be made in euros therepayments in euros (MA 2011: 102); Second, De Nederlandsche Bank made advance payments, related to the Danish deposit insurance system (MA 2011: 118). Usage shows attempts to differentiate distinct lexical meanings by using different collocations: Most payments (189.5 thousand) were made, and the largest payment amount (1.5 billion Lt) was transferred on December 30 (LBMA 2011: 69); in 2009, 217.2 million payment non-cash transactions, of which 210.9 million were domestic (97%) and 6.3 million international payments (3%). The value of these payment transactions amounted to 1,456 billion litas, of which the value of domestic payments – 1,320 billion litas (91%), international payments – 136 billion litas (9%). Over the year, compared with 2008, the total number of non-cash payment transactions increased by 3.5 percent, of which domestic payments increased by 3.5 and international payments by 5.8 percent. The total number of non-cash payment transactions 200 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 value fell by 22.2 percent, with the value of domestic payments falling by 20.3 percent and that of international payments by 36.4 percent (LBMA 2012: 69). Nevertheless, longer constructions are not convenient for an economical inflected language, and when economic phenomena are analyzed in detail, they would need to be repeated often, making the text stylistically awkward as well. This is probably also why there is an increasing tendency to use a single noun for both meanings. On the other hand, it is often not important to indicate the difference in meaning, since context makes it clear. Other typical abstract nouns—those with the suffix -umas—occur less frequently in economic reviews, but their use also reveals similar patterns. In discussing the codified norm, it was noted that the plural noun capacities had received differing evaluations in terms of language norms, but it is included in the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (LKŽ). As part of the terms capacity model, capacity utilization (AETŽ 2006: 83), excess capacity, theory of excess capacity (AETŽ 2006: 211), the term is included in AETŽ, which creates the preconditions for using other terms with this suffix as well. In economic reviews, the term production capacity is fairly widespread, for example: This industry is planning further expansion of production and has spare production capacity, allowing production to be increased promptly (LEA 2011 11: 8); For some time now, the growing level of production capacity utilization in the private sector has indicated a need for investment. From the second quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2011, industrial enterprises’ production capacity utilization increased from 60 to 69 percent. (FSA 2011: 7). Termino statusą linksta įgyti ir nesubalansuotumai, pvz.: Euro zonos skolų krizė yra ilgą laiką didėjusių ekonominių ir finansinių nesubalansuo-tumų euro zonos ir pasaulio ekonomikoje padarinys (FSA 2012: 18); Todėl Estijos ekonomika buvo reikšmingai pakoreguota, o tai padėjo sureguliuoti tam tikrus išorės ir vidaus nesubalansuotumus, susidariusius spartaus augimo metais (MA 2011: 126). Šiais atvejais pavartotą daugiskaitą gal ir būtų galima palaikyti paveikta konteksto. Tačiau kitais atvejais tokio konteksto poveikio nėra, o daiktavardis nesubalansuotumai vis tiek vartojamas, pvz.: ECB dokumentuose, kuriuose analizuojama ne euro zonos šalių ekonomika, nėra valstybėms narėms skirtų konkrečių rekomendacijų dėl makroekonominių nesubalansuotumų prevencijos ir priežiūros (LBMA 2012: 67). In English, the noun imbalances is inflected for number, though it is questionable whether this is the main factor determining the form of its Lithuanian equivalent. English is more likely merely to prompt the creation of a Lithuanian equivalent, while the form of the latter R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 201 are determined by internal linguistic tendencies: the application of the principle of analogy, the tendency of abstract nouns to become concrete when acquiring a plural form, the possibility of using this form to mark a difference in lexical meaning, etc. That the English language probably does not influence the number form of the Lithuanian equivalent is also suggested by the use of the cognate noun disbalansas: in English, disbalance inflects for number (cf. disbalances), whereas the Lithuanian equivalent is not used in the plural, at least in economic reviews. In other cases, a noun with the suffix -umas has become established as a term (and has been included in dictionaries) in the singular form, but the plural is also used, for example: the difference between long-term interest rates on litas- and euro-denominated bonds in 2011, expressed as the yieldyields spread, widened in the second half of the year as the sovereign debt crisis in some euro area countries intensified. The difference between the yields on Lithuanian and German government securities maturing in 2016 yields had increased by 211 basis points during 2011, to 4.67 percent (MA 2011: 34). In this case, the plural could be regarded as a context-influenced form, but more regular factors also underlie it. These are more clearly revealed by the number-use tendencies of another group of nouns. 2.2. The plural as a result of concretizing meaning One abstract noun whose plural form is corrected perhaps most frequently is volume (Šukys 2003: 105; Paulauskienė 2004a: 152; 2004b: 304; Kasperavičienė 2006: 218). However, only the meanings given in Lithuanian dictionaries would allow it to be considered an abstract noun: 1) size, breadth; 2) scope, ambition (LKŽ 2012; DLKŽ 2012). In specialized usage, this noun is considerably concretized. On the other hand, dictionaries also allow for concretization: one of the meanings of the word volume given in them is “size,” while one meaning of the noun size is “that which can be measured or counted” (LKŽ 2012; DLKŽ 2012)8. In economic language, the meaning of the word volume is often more concrete. For example, in the sentence This was offset by positive, but declining, volumes of debt securities and share issuance (MA 2012: 47) the discussion is not 8 When discussing nouns that denote particular measures, it should be noted that the numbers associated with them, although they make the meanings of those nouns more concrete, do not necessarily turn them into count nouns (i.e., nouns that inflect for number); cf. we do not say: their weights differ by half a kilogram. The plural of such nouns could be justified only by demonstrating that it has become lexicalized, i.e., acquired a special lexical meaning, or that the noun has become countable (cf. one size, two sizes). – Editor’s note. 202 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 generally about volume, but about two different measures—the volume of securities issuance and the volume of share issuance; the singular would indicate the overall issuance of securities and shares or the overall volume of that issuance and would therefore be inaccurate. Accuracy is a characteristic feature of texts in the formal register. However, the meaning of the noun volume in the usage under examination is further specified by the fact that this word is usually associated with a particular number, e.g.: During the first half of the year, the volume of liquidity provided for ITROs, additional ITROs and special-term refinancing operations whose maturity had not expired steadily decreased – from EUR 617 billion to EUR 309 billion (MA 2010: 98); Global economic activity and production volume fell by 1.2% (in the fourth quarter of 2008) and by 1.4% (in the first quarter of 2009) (MA 2010: 98). The adjective positive used in the example also illustrates this not entirely direct association: in economic language it usually denotes a number greater than zero, with a plus sign. In the sentence Banks issued LTL 1.4 billion in new loans and reduced provisions by LTL 0.2 billion, but the volume of returning loans was greater, so the overall increase in the loan portfolio remained negative (Report 2011 05: 50), the adjective greater signals this indirect association with the indicator. Economic language also associates many similar nouns denoting particular years with specific figures, for example, size, quantity, level, exchange rate, rate, value, pace: The euro’s real effective exchange rate, calculated using the CPI, was on average slightly lower in 2011 than a year earlier (MA 2012: 25); Unemployment rate was 14.8 percent (in the second quarter – 15.6%); for the third consecutive quarter it was lower than a year earlier (Report 2011 12: 11); in the first half of 2009, the annual growth rate in house prices across the euro area fell to about 2.4% (it was 2.8% in the first half of 2008, and in the second half – 0.8%) (MA 2012: 61). In economic language, such nouns become so specific that they can vary in number, like other nouns with concrete meanings, e.g.: In view of these violations and operational shortcomings, the Board of the Bank of Lithuania applied various enforcement measures to AB bank SNO-RAS, setting limits on the prudential ratios restricting the bank’s operationsvalues and requiring the bank to reduce its operational risk (LBMA 2012: 40); The euro’s real effective exchange rates, based on various cost and price calculations, rose in the first half of 2011 and subsequently fell to the levels that had prevailed at the end of 2010; The monetary lending rates of these two national central banks were the highest in the EU in February 2010 – 5.75% and 7%, respectively5.75 and 7% (MA 2010: 93); Quarterly data on imports of goods and services R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 203 weighted according to Lithuania’s export data values provided in Eurostat’s “ComExt” database values (LEA 2012 05: 15); The differences in the growth rates of the various components of P3 were due to low interest rates and the steadily narrowing differences in interest paid on various monetary assets (MA 2010: 32). In the language of economics, the marked tendency to associate such nouns with specific figures is one of the main factors behind their becoming more concrete in meaning and, in turn, being used in the plural. This tendency is also reinforced by the concretization of meaning arising from the classification of phenomena, processes, and objects, characteristic of specialized fields of language use, and the naming of the identified categories with separate terms. This leads to sentences such as Unemployment is falling, as the long-term and youth unemployment rates that rose rapidly during the recession decline (LEA 2011 11: 3); Banks began lending more actively, and the rapid decline in banks’ assets and loan volumes in previous years slowed (LBMA 2011: 8). In these cases, it is relevant to distinguish two types of unemployment rate—the long-term unemployment rate and the youth unemployment rate—and two volumes—the volume of banks’ assets and the volume of loans. Using these separate terms is uneconomical and stylistically awkward, while the singular would be ambiguous, so the plural is chosen for the words rates, volumes. Incidentally, such patterns also affect the number forms of other nouns characteristic of economic language (and not only that language), e.g.: The problems of this region are not homogeneous: they include not only high public and private sectordebt levels, but also banking-sector, economic-growth, and political crises (LEA 2012 08: 5); Investment increased only through public and private sectors’ expenditure on non-residential construction (Pranešimas 2011 12: 10); At high-level euro-area leaders’ meetings, proposals are considered concerning the region’s banking, fiscal, and political unions (LEA 2012: 08). Further analysis of another group of nouns should reveal even more about number-use patterns associated with classification and categorization. 2.3. Classification and counting The international words used in Lithuanian prompt us to consider whether foreign-language influence is one of the factors behind the use of plural forms that is atypical of abstract nouns. Used in other languages as well, these words may have acquired number-inflection tendencies characteristic of those languages; however, it is doubtful that this is the sole or principal factor behind the tendency to use them in the plural in Lithuanian. In the usage under examination, the international noun risk is widespread. In English, the dominant language of economics and the language in which economic theory is chiefly developed, this word— 204 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 —inflects for number (cf. risk, risks), but the use of the plural of the noun risk would suggest that the primary impetus is not English-language tendencies but rather the classification of phenomena, processes, properties, and other abstract concepts. Such classification is particularly characteristic of economic analysis texts, from which it also finds its way into economic reviews. For example, risks associated with banking are generally divided into liquidity, operational, credit, and other types of risk. The plural form is used to refer collectively to all or several of these types, for example: When investing foreign reserves, the Bank of Lithuania faces several types of risk: credit risk, exchange-rate risk, and interest-rate risk. In implementing the safety principle for foreign reserves, it establishes limits and restrictions for managing all these risks (LBMA 2012: 35); The Governing Council decided to make provisions for foreign-exchange-rate, interest-rate, and gold-price risks (MA 2011: 210). In Lithuanian, only the generalizing plural of material nouns is considered standard. In fact, in Kalbos patarimai, which applies a system of degrees for evaluating language phenomena, it is considered a secondary rather than primary standard variant—the primary variants are various wine, wines of various kinds, all sorts of tea, yogurt (KP1 2002: 21). For another subgroup of singularia tantum nouns—abstract nouns—the generalizing plural is not explicitly accepted, although it is envisaged by noting the aforementioned exception involving concretization of meaning. Examples given to illustrate it include: A person can be overcome by all kinds of fears. The threats facing the region can be divided into several groups (KP1 2002: 20). Such plural usage is abundant, for example: This shows that the main threats to Lithuania were perceived to arise from possible external impacts (LBMA 2012: 33); The greatest threat to the country’s financial sector and the stability of the economy as a whole comes from the limited prospects for economic growth and the threats associated with peripheral euro-area public-finance problems and possible adverse consequences for Lithuania’s main trading partners (MA 2010: 26). On the other hand, singular variants are sometimes used as well; in Kalbos patarimai, the singular is considered the primary standard variant, for example: Guided by the safety principle, the Bank of Lithuania limits and actively manages all types of financial risk encountered when investing foreign reserves (MA 2010: 40); It is important for banks to continue increasing capital buffers, conservatively assess various types of risk, and make the necessary provisions (FSA 2012: 3). However, it is not always possible to use these variants to expres- R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 205 s the intended meaning. For example, in the sentence During inspections, particular attention was paid to how certain types of risk were managed, considerable attention was devoted to the management of credit and liquidity risks and the quality of internal governance (LBMA 2011: 41), the standard variant can be used for the first occurrence of the noun risk, but only the plural is possible in the second. If the singular were used, credit risk and liquidity risk would not be distinguished as two types of risk. The requirements of style and linguistic economy also contribute to precision: repeating the word risk would be both uneconomical and stylistically awkward, and when discussing types of risk in detail, it would need to be repeated many times. The Lithuanian word activity, more precisely, economic activity , displays very similar tendencies in usage. After the Classification of Economic Activities was published—a structured set of social and economic activity types existing in the national economy, whose unit of classification is an activity type (e.g., agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, transport and storage, accommodation and food service activities, etc.)—the sector-based analysis of the national economy, common in texts from the preceding period, began to disappear from economic reviews, and the range of use of the word sector also narrowed. However, the phrase economic activity, which came to be used in its place, seems to have taken on the meaning of the more concrete noun sector, denoting a domain or area, for example: Wage growth in the private sector was mainly driven by higher wages in the services sector—especially in trade, information and communications, and transport and storage activities. Wages also rose throughout the year in other private-sector economic activities—industry, construction, and agriculture (LBMA 2011: 20). Some examples show that the words (economic) activity and sector are indeed used synonymously, for example: Employment is increasing in the private sector, particularly in manufacturing and wholesale and retail trade, but there are activities in which employment is falling, for example, in financial and insurance, education, and health-care activities (LEA 2012 05: 3); Wage growth in the private sector was driven above all by wage increases in the services sector, particularly in trade, transport and storage, and information and communications activities. Wages also rose in other private-sector activities —industry, construction, and agriculture. More than half of wage growth in the private sector was driven by increases in irregular payments (LEA 2012 05: 10). 206 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 Thus, under these circumstances, the meaning of the word activity has become considerably more specific, and its plural would result from inflecting the more specific noun for number. However, another factor also encourages this usage. When analyzing the economy by types of economic activity, just as when discussing the financial sector by the types of risks it faces, a generalizing variant is needed, and the plural of the word activity is most often used for this purpose, e.g.: The downturn in Lithuanian exports first directly affected the more foreign-trade-oriented economic activities, i.e. industry, quarrying, trade, transport, and agriculture (FSA 2012: 26); Loans granted to manufacturing, trade, transport, construction, and real estate activities accounted for the largest share of banks’ loan portfolio to non-financial companies (LBMA 2012: 24); Of the main manufacturing activities, only the food industry—one of the activities most dependent on domestic demand—generated less added value than in 2009 (LBMA 2011: 14). In the language advisory guidelines, the norm-preferred variant is considered more suitable: expressions with the adjectives various, different are unsuitable for texts in the formal administrative style because they are insufficiently specific, while the phrase economic activity of various kinds would violate the principle of economy. Economists are especially attentive to this principle. The use of the international word economy in the plural can also, at first glance, be associated with English, where the noun economy is inflected for number (cf. economies)9. In Lithuanian texts, the plural is most often used to refer to an economy of a particular type. Indeed, the need to name it is often prompted by a term borrowed from English. In seeking to translate developed economy, išsivysčiusi ekonomika (‘developed economy’) became widespread; the phrase small open economy, tending toward terminological use, was translated as maža ir atvira ekonomika (‘small and open economy’) (or maža, atvira ekonomika; maža atvira ekonomika (‘small, open economy’; ‘small open economy’)). The Lithuanian equivalent of the term emerging economy has not yet become established; variants found in usage include kylanti ekonomika, kylančios rinkos ekonomika, besiformuojanti ekonomika, besiformuojančios rinkos ekonomika (‘rising economy’, ‘emerging market economy’, ‘developing economy’, ‘emerging market economy’), among others. Such expressions may describe the economy of a particular country, but more often they denote concepts encompassing the economies of more than one country, e.g.: To improve the effectiveness of surveillance, in 2011 the IMF prepared for the first time a systemic impact on other countries and consolidated multilateral surveillance report on the five largest economies in the world (the euro area, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan) (the source text breaks off at “ata-”) 9 The meaning ‘the science of economics’ is expressed in English by the plural noun economics. R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 207 skaitas (LBMA 2012: 68); Vis dėlto šias mažas ir atviras ekonomikas stipriai veikia tarptautinė aplinka (LEA 2012 08); Sistemiškai svarbių ir didelių pasaulio ekonomikų, tokių kaip ES, Kinijos ar JAV, vidaus paklausos pokyčiai tiesioginiais ir netiesioginiais kanalais lemia Lietuvos eksporto paklausos kaitą (FSA 2012: 26); Išsivysčiusių ekonomikų augimas ir toliau buvo gana nedidelis. Kartu pasauliniam atsigavimui darė įtaką besiformuojančios ekonomi-kos, ypač Azijos, jos net kėlė susirūpinimą dėl perkaitimą galinčio lemti spaudimo kai kuriose šalyse (MA 2011: 23); Pagal pasaulinio augimo tendencijas toliau skyrėsi ne tik išsivysčiusios ir besiformuojančios ekonomikos, bet ir viena išsivysčiusi ekonomika nuo kitos (MA 2011: 20). The more specific noun ūkis (ūkiai) (‘economy/economies’), which could be used to translate the English economy (economies), is not used in such phrases with terminological meaning, and quite rightly so. The use of these phrases in English texts shows that they refer not to the economies of specific countries, but to the economy as a system with certain structural characteristics. This meaning of the word economy is also given in dictionaries of international words (TŽŽ 2003: 192; Vaitkevičiūtė 2007: 278). There may be more than one system; when referring to a group of them, the plural sistemos (‘systems’) would be used. Thus, a group of economies may likewise be called ekonomikos (‘economies’), while systems classified on some basis may be designated by terms denoting particular types (besivystančios ekonomikos, kylančios ekonomikos (‘developing economies’, ‘emerging economies’), etc.). Į tai, kad iš panašių paskatų kylanti daugiskaita nebėra pavieniai vartosenos atvejai, dėmesį yra atkreipusi ir R. Vladarskienė (2008: 126). Ji konstatavo tokį pokytį: anksčiau būdavo pažymima, jog kalbama apie tam tikras rūšis ar sritis, o dabar abstraktaus daiktavardžio daugiskaita jau net pavartojama šalia žodžio rūšys, pvz.: Konkurencingo verslo pasaulyje yra daugybė rizikų. Rizikų (=Rizikos) rūšys ir jų klasifikavimas daug priklauso nuo verslo pobūdžio. Šitaip pavartota daugiskaita laikoma nepateisinama, tačiau apskritai į rūšis skaidomų dalykų daugiskaitai linkstama pritarti: Įmonės pardavimų bendrasis ir grynasis pelningumai; Tokia taršos vertinimo tvarka neatitinka ES reglamento reikalavimų, nes šiame reglamente nurodyta registruoti ir gamybas, kurių metu išsiskiria net nedidelis kiekis 25 rūšių teršalų; Kaimo turizmas – viena populiariausių alternatyvių veiklų. Ji susiejama su abstrakčių dalykų skaičiavimo atvejais (Žmogaus psichika, atrodo, nepajėgi vienu metu pajusti dvi grėsmes, du pavojus. Čia reikėtų skirti kelias įtakas ir tendencijas), o pastarųjų normiškumas laikomas mažiausiai abejotinu. Vis dėlto šių atvejų priežastingumo seka greičiausiai yra atvirkštinė: reiškiniai 208 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 (processes, properties, etc.) are first classified, and only then are the units of classification (kinds, groups, etc.) counted. The sequence for evaluating the cases should apparently also be reversed: since the classification of phenomena, processes, and properties is self-evident, and its consequence—nouns with more specific meanings—is accepted by the codified norm, it is unlikely that the plural that refers generally to distinguished units of classification could also be accepted. It is more pertinent to consider the extent to which the next step—counting the identified kinds—might be accepted. In usage, there are instances of directly counting things that have been classified, for example: Taking into account the macroeconomic developments in Lithuania and other countries and the challenges arising, three main risks: a) fiscal consolidation by Lithuania’s major foreign trade partners, b) an increase in risk premiums, and c) reduced liquidity among parent banks in Scandinavia (Pranešimas 2011 05: 54). However, it is much more common to count unclassified objects denoted by the nouns balance, bankruptcy, budget, reform, debt, for example: The significant increase in bankruptcies in number, together with the emergence of corporate solvency problems, increased the share of non-performing loans in the MFI loan portfolio and reduced the ability to borrow (LBMA 2010: 31); A fiscal union would probably be implemented together with a political union and would allow European-level institutions to influence the determination of euro area member states’ budgets and the implementation of economic reforms, as well as pool the public-sector debts of the participating countries and make these obligations joint (LEA 2012 08: 5); The spreading and deepening euro area public-sector debt crisis poses a particularly serious threat to the economies of Europe and the world (Pranešimas 2011 12: 7). The codified norm of the standard language, making no exceptions even for specialized areas of its use, tends not to recognize number inflection of nouns with abstract meanings—at least such nouns as apimtis, aplinka, įtaka, pajėgumas, poveikis, remontas (‘scope, environment, influence, capacity, impact, repair’)—and thus does not tend to recognize the counting of the objects they denote (see Šukys 2003: 105; Paulauskienė 2004a: 152; KP1 2002: 20). In this respect, it appears to be fully consistent with the theory of nominal number set out in works on morphology, which distinguishes between nouns denoting countable things and those denoting uncountable things, corresponding respectively to nouns inflected for number and nouns not inflected for number. Abstract nouns are included in the group of nouns not inflected for number. The plural of nouns in this group is regarded not as another number form, but as a marker of a different lexical meaning (Paulauskienė 1983: 171; 1989: 165; 1994: 147–148; 2004: 149–151). The same form is regarded as an inflectional form in one case, R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 209 by another—a derivational affix: “Nouns that are not inflected for number may have both plural and singular forms. There may also be a certain correlative relationship between these forms. However, there is always a difference in lexical meaning between the members of a correlation. In this case, words with the same stem but different number forms cannot be regarded as forms of the same word, because the members of the correlation are linked not by inflection but by derivation. The grammatical number form here is used as an indicator of another meaning” (Paulauskienė 1989: 165). However, the usage under consideration does not violate the norm, because these nouns with abstract meanings have become considerably more concrete. For example, budget, which the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (LKŽ) defines as 1) an estimate of the income and expenditure of a state, institution, or person, and 2) a calculation of planned expenditure for a certain period (LKŽ 2012), as well as debt, balance, are usually associated with a certain sum of money, while bankruptcy, reform are associated with a specialized procedure. Thus, the plural forms of these nouns are better explained as the result of recategorization—the transition of formerly number-invariable nouns into the category of inflecting nouns (see Roduner, Čižik-Prokaševa 2006). CONCLUSIONS The language of the economic reviews discussed reveals that the use of plural forms of nouns considered singular abstract nouns is determined by a considerable number of factors. On the basis of the usage examined, certain prototypical factors can be identified—that is, factors that encourage the pluralization of certain nouns. The use of plural forms of abstract nouns with the suffixes -imas (-ymas), -umas is encouraged by the need to distinguish lexical meanings, namely, the meaning of an action’s object or result from that of nouns denoting an action (in the language of economics, a particular operation), process, or phenomenon. The latter nouns also occur in the plural, but this is primarily encouraged by the need to emphasize recurrence. The spread of plural forms of nouns denoting an action’s object or result is also encouraged by some of them acquiring terminological status and by the recognition of this status in economic dictionaries. This creates the conditions for forming more analogous terms. The principle of analogy also encourages the use of the plural to indicate recurrence. The use of plural forms of nouns denoting measures in economic reviews is determined above all by the frequent association of these words with specific figures— 210 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 economic indicators. This makes the meaning more concrete, and the noun begins to inflect for number. Another impetus for concretizing meaning is the division and specialization of concepts characteristic of economic analysis texts, arising from a tendency to classify phenomena, processes, and objects. This tendency also determines how the units of classification are referred to collectively. The usage examined shows that the plural form is increasingly chosen for this purpose. The options proposed in normative works for referring to types collectively are not convenient in language-use domains, particularly those that prioritize economy, and often cannot be used at all. When phenomena, objects, and properties are classified, the question also arises of counting the units distinguished by the classification. Examples of such counting occur in the language of economics, but this phenomenon is not assessed in terms of the norm. In general, normative works regard the pluralization of singular nouns in texts of the official business style as unacceptable, except in cases where the noun has become more concrete. In this respect, the norm is fully consistent with the theory of nominal number presented in works on Lithuanian morphology. Since theoretical works identify abstract nouns as a subgroup of singular nouns, normative works consider the use of their plural forms unacceptable. The current codified norm clearly recognizes only one circumstance in which plural forms may be used for singular abstract nouns: when the noun becomes more concrete. However, concretization can occur to varying degrees, and normative works do not take this into account. They draw only the outer limits: the plural use of an abstract singular noun is considered an error, while that of a noun that has become concrete is considered standard. The insufficiently precise definition of the norm is also a factor encouraging the pluralization of so-called singular nouns. Usage functioning under these conditions—specifically, the language of economics—reveals that in most cases the pluralization of a singular abstract noun is associated with its meaning becoming more concrete. Nevertheless, the main impetus for using the plural is not concretization of meaning but other factors. These are not adequately addressed in normative works. This article is an attempt to discuss such factors. A more reliable answer to whether the factors and usage patterns discussed are characteristic of domains of standard-language use other than economics could be obtained by examining number-use tendencies in other domains, especially specialized ones. It is therefore hoped that language researchers, creators, and users in other fields will also take part in considering this question. R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 211 ŠALTINIAI FSA 2011: Lietuvos bankas. Finansinio stabilumo apžvalga, 2011. FSA 2012: Lietuvos bankas. Finansinio stabilumo apžvalga, 2012. LEA 2011: Lietuvos bankas. Lietuvos ekonomikos apžvalga, 2011, lapkritis. LEA 2012: Lietuvos bankas. Lietuvos ekonomikos apžvalga, 2012, gegužė. LEA 2012: Lietuvos bankas. Lietuvos ekonomikos apžvalga, 2012, rugpjūtis. LBMA 2008: Lietuvos banko metų ataskaita, 2007. LBMA 2010: Lietuvos banko metų ataskaita, 2009. LBMA 2011: Lietuvos banko metų ataskaita, 2010. LBMA 2012: Lietuvos banko metų ataskaita, 2011. MA 2008: Europos centrinis bankas. Metų ataskaita, 2007. MA 2010: Europos centrinis bankas. Metų ataskaita, 2009. MA 2011: Europos centrinis bankas. Metų ataskaita, 2010. MA 2012: Europos centrinis bankas. 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TŽŽ 2003: Tarptautinių žodžių žodynas. Antra pataisyta laida, Vilnius: Alma littera. Vainienė R. 2005: Ekonomikos terminų žodynas, Vilnius: Tyto alba. Vaitkevičiūtė V. 2007: Tarptautinių žodžių žodynas, Vilnius: Žodynas. Vladarskienė R. 2008: Skaičiaus formų vartojimo problemos dabartinėje lietuvių kalboje. – Specialybės kalba: terminija ir studijos, Vilnius: Mykolo Romerio universitetas, 124–127. Gauta 2012 11 06 THE USAGE OF ABSTRACT NOUNS IN PLURAL IN THE LANGUAGE OF ECONOMICS AND THE NORM Summary The article deals with the topical issue of singular abstract nouns used in plural in one particular domain of modern Lithuanian – the language of economics. Factors determining and supporting such usage are discussed. Insufficient determinacy of codified norm can be viewed as one of the factors: publications codifying the language mention only the exception when the meaning becomes more concrete, though concreteness can have a different degree. When only opposing margins of the norm and mistake are indicated (usage of a concrete noun is viewed as correct and of an abstract noun as incorrect) the users are entitled to make a decision about every borderline case. Analysis of particular groups of nouns uncovers other factors supporting the usage of abstract nouns in plural. It appears that the plural of the most typical representative of abstract nouns – derivates with the suffix –imas (–ymas) is not only a sign of a change in meaning. Quite a few of such derivates are used in the plural in texts of economics as terms and some of them are included in dictionaries of economics; this encourages the creation and usage of new terms in plural based on analogy with existing terms. Another group of abstracts in plural raises the importance of such a factor as avoidance of ambiguity – a noun in the singular could be ambiguous in a particular context. This factor ought to be related with previously mentioned factors of concreteness of the meaning and necessity to express an opposition “one – many”. The codified norm allows an exception for one group of nouns in the singular – names of materials – to be used in plural in order to express a variety of 214 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 85 kinds. The usage researched shows that this exception is also being applied to abstract nouns. Probably the main factor supporting the abstracts in plural is the increase in concreteness of meaning which is recognized by the norm, although the usage shows that there are some secondary or separate factors. These factors are strong and complex, therefore norms ought to be evaluated appropriately and the usage of abstracts in plural should not be linked with the influence of other languages alone. This article is an initial attempt to investigate this particular subject important for usage. It is being researched on the basis of data from one domain of the standard language, though this analysis might encourage the research to be extended to other domains. This would allow more reliable conclusions to be drawn about the spreading of abstract nouns in plural and their inherence in different styles. KEYWORDS: abstract nouns, singularia tantum, inflectional change in number, increase in concreteness of meaning, derivates, norm, usage. RAMUNĖ VASKELAITĖ Lietuvos bankas Gedimino pr. 6, LT-01103 Vilnius [email protected] R. VASKELAITĖ. Abstrakčiųjų daiktavardžių daugiskaitos vartojimas ekonomikos kalboje ir norma 215