In which languages could a phrase like "We went to lunch with Bob" signify an event in which exactly two people took part?

Question

I'm sorry for the perhaps weirdly worded question, but here's my attempt to explain better what I mean:

In English, if I say

"We went to lunch with Bob" means that the people involved are me, Bob, and at least one unnamed third party, which is included in the "we".

In Russian, on the other hand, you could say

"Мы с Бобом пошли на обед", literally "We with Bob went to lunch", and mean only yourself and Bob.

The only other language I'm fluent in, German, has the same structure as English, "Wir sind mit Bob zum Mittagessen gegangen" would imply at least three people attending.

What I'm wondering is: Is this a trait that is linked to language relationships? Are other Slavic languages like Russian in this regard? And has there been any research on this phenomenon?

Answer 1

It's not exactly what you are asking, but a similar construction was used in Old Norse.

"A noun (usually a proper name) was often put in apposition, or partial apposition, to a dual pronoun of the first or second person, or a plural pronoun of the third person, as vit Hǫttr 'Hǫtt and I'; þit móðir mín 'you (sg. or pl.) and my mother'. In the third person it is not always clear whether the apposition is partial or complete; thus þeir Grímr ok Helgi might mean 'Grím and Helgi' or 'Grím and Helgi and their men'."

-Gordon, Introduction to Old Norse, para. 164.

Answer 2

In Arabic,

Plural in Arabic is divided into

sparse very few

few more than sparse

plenty a lot

combined too much

for Example, the word Man = RaJol , with the root R-J-L

Plural sparse ➡ Rjajel equal to the English phrase 'few men'

Plural few ➡ ِArajel equal to saying 'some few men' in English

Plural plenty ➡ Rejal equal to saying 'men' in English

Plural combined ➡ Rejalat equal to English phrase 'crowds of men'

So when Saying we went to dinner, in Arabic you would use the dual case (meaning only two , you and Bob) , or once you use plural you can omit saying how many went to lunch by using only 'we' or try to be more detailed by they type of plural you use.

Answer 3

In Logoori (and I think the facts are parallel in most Bantu languages), ndáágéénda na Marova "I walked with Marova" says that exactly 2 people walked and kwáágéénda na Marova "we walked with Marova" implies that at least 3 people walked, that is, it can't be used felicitously for "Me and Marova walked". The conjunction inzí na Marova "Me and marova" induces 1st plural agreement, and inzí na Marova kwáágéénda means only "Me and Marova walked" – there isn't some third person. If you want to unambiguously say, with the un-shifted "and/with Marova" in subject position "Me (and someone else) and Marova walked", you have to use the equivalent of "we" namely kʊnyi, thus kʊnyi na Marova kwáágéénda "We and Marova walked". In this way, I think Bantu languages are parallel to English, in that "we" is only used when you mean "I and someone else".

I don't understand the Russian pattern – are all of these possible, unambiguous, and equivalent? That is, how do you say "Me, someone else, and Bob/Igor went/are going to lunch"?

Я и Игорь собираемся на обед / Я с Игорем собираемся на обед

Мы и Игорь собираемся на обед / Мы с Игорем собираемся на обед