An associative plural, including a noun and its associative plural marker, denotes a central referent noun and a group of its associates.  The associates are typically human, close-knit, and heterogeneous (unlike similative or collective plurals, whose members are more uniform).  The associative plural marker often comprises an affix, article, or clitic.  Consider the Japanese example <i>Tanaka-tachi</i> 'Tanaka-PL' meaning "Tanaka and his associates."

<br><br><b>Reference</b><br>
Daniel, Michael & Moravcsik, Edith. 2008. The Associative Plural.
In Haspelmath et al (2008), chapter 36. Available online at <a href="http://wals.info/feature/36">
http://wals.info/feature/36</a href>.
