When people overload the/their stomach(s): Non-Verbal Plural Number Agreement and Generic Reference in Early and Late Modern Medical Discourse

This study examines the use of distributive singular and plural forms of stomach in Early and Late Modern English medical regimens, drawing on data from the Early Modern English Medical Texts (EMEMT) and Late Modern English Medical Texts (LMEMT) corpora. The study explores distributive number preferences in English from both a discourse-domain and historical perspective, areas that have not been extensively examined. The findings show that despite the preference for plural forms in modern English, there is at least one scenario – a generalizing context – where free variation between singular and plural forms can be observed since at least the 16th century. Additionally, the results reveal that the most common way of conveying generic meaning in this historical period and genre of regimens was through the definite article, while other modern forms – such as singular they and other personal pronouns – are either absent (singular they) or rarely used.