Numeral Classifier Systems
The Case of Japanese
Author
Numeral Classifier Systems considers the functional significance of the Japanese numeral system, its conclusions based on a corpus of 500 uses of classifier constructions drawn from oral and written Japanese texts.
Interestingly, although the Japanese system appears to conform at least superficially to universalistic predictions about its semantic structure, this study reports that in actual usage, the semantic role of classifiers is slight — only very rarely do they carry any lexical information unavailable from the context or the noun with which the classifier occurs. It does appear, however, that the system has an important role to play in providing pronoun-like anaphoric elements and in marking pragmatic distinctions such as the individuatedness of referents and the newness of numerical information. For these reasons, the classifier system is deeply involved in a number of subsystems of Japanese grammar, and the demise of the system (sometimes rumored to be impending) would have substantial implications for the structure of the language as a whole.
Interestingly, although the Japanese system appears to conform at least superficially to universalistic predictions about its semantic structure, this study reports that in actual usage, the semantic role of classifiers is slight — only very rarely do they carry any lexical information unavailable from the context or the noun with which the classifier occurs. It does appear, however, that the system has an important role to play in providing pronoun-like anaphoric elements and in marking pragmatic distinctions such as the individuatedness of referents and the newness of numerical information. For these reasons, the classifier system is deeply involved in a number of subsystems of Japanese grammar, and the demise of the system (sometimes rumored to be impending) would have substantial implications for the structure of the language as a whole.
[Studies in Discourse and Grammar, 4] 1996. xx, 336 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Preface | p. vii
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Transcription Conventions | p. ix
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Key to Charts, Figures, and Tables | p. xvii
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1. Introduction | p. 1
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2. The Japanese System — History and Morphology | p. 35
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3. Semantic Properties of System Members | p. 53
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4. Structure of the lexical Field | p. 121
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5. Instantiation of Universal Semantic Trends in the Japanese Numeral Classifier System | p. 135
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6. The Anaphoric Use of Classifier Phrases | p. 159
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7. The Use of Classifier Phrases and Plural Markers as Individuators | p. 193
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8. The Syntactic Position of the Numeral-Classifier Phrase | p. 219
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9. Diachronic prognosis | p. 263
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Notes | p. 269
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Appendix 1: Questionnaire Instructions | p. 289
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Appendix 2: Forms Listed on Questionnaire | p. 293
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Index | p. 327
“Pamela Downing’s book should be of great interest to all linguists working on classifiers.”
Christopher I. Beckwith, Indiana University
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LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General