Collective suffixes and ad hoc categories: from Latin -ālia to Italian -aglia.

The expression of ad hoc categories ranges from discourse-level to syntactic and morphological strategies. Considering derivation in particular, it has been observed that also collective suffixes can be used for the identification of context-dependent sets. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between collectives and ad hoc categories by focusing on the Italian suffix -aglia and by discussing its diachronic relation with the Latin neuter nouns ending in -ālia. The discussion concerning the notion of collective will take into account a recent proposal that distinguishes between collective nouns, aggregate nouns, and superordinates. As will be shown, aggregate nouns are of particular interest for interpreting some Latin pluralia tantum in -ālia that denote sets of heterogeneous entities with similar properties. The same possibility to derive aggregate nouns characterizes the suffix -aglia that, when attached to proper nouns, can also convey associative meanings, or denote categories including persons and situations that share the named exemplar as a common denominator. As the analysis will show, the development of these functions correlates with the mechanisms of (inter)subjectification.