Inverse Number in Dagaare * Scott Grimm University of Rochester scott.grimm@rochester.edu Abstract This chapter examines the inverse number system in Dagaare (Gur; Niger- Congo). Inverse number systems possess a number morpheme which for some nouns encodes the plural interpretation while for others it encodes the singular interpretation. This chapter argues that a principled lexical semantic classification underlies the inverse number strategy in Dagaare, guiding whether for a particular noun the inverse morpheme codes the singular or the plural interpretation. The chapter further explores the functional grounding of inverse number, in terms of frequency and individuation, and presents a formal semantic account of the inverse number system. * I would like to thank the editors and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on a draft of this chapter. I would also like to thank Adams Bodomo for his early and continued encouragement of my work on Dagaare, as well as Arto Anttila for his early, generous help. A special thanks goes to Mark Ali at the University of Education in Winneba, Ghana who devoted an enormous amount of time to working with me on Dagaare and without whom this research would have never come to fruition. I would also like to thank the many others who provided helpful input on this work, particularly Jeff Good, Tom G¨ uldemann, Paul Kiparksy, Beth Levin, Frank Seifart, and Tom Wasow; as well as the various audiences at venues where this work has been presented. This material is in part based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1023289 ‘Number and Individuation: Nominal Semantics in Dagaare’. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. 1