Talk:Classifier (linguistics)
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[edit] need more
this article is obviously only about classificatory systems of the type found in Chinese & other E & SE Asian languages (i.e. it is clearly biased). Athabaskan languages (e.g. Western Apache, Navajo, Slavey, Koyukon) have another type. feel free to adapt what is at Navajo language or Southern Athabaskan languages. one linguist has identified 4 different types of classification. peace — ishwar (SPEAK) 23:33, 2005 May 7 (UTC)
I agree. The systems from austronesian languages, mayan languages should be included, and possibly integrated more with discussion of noun class systems
This article woefully lacks examples. The only example given is 'measure words' in English, which isn't a very fitting choice if the purpose is to help English-readers like me understand how classifiers work in languages where they *are* significant grammatical features (which they're not in English). So if somebody could edit in a few, more significant and/or exotic examples of classifiers, that would be great. Khalil.
[edit] Number of classes
"...while gender systems vary from two to twenty classes at most." 20 classes for gender? I believe there are only 2 or 3 possible (masculine/feminine + neuter). If there were 20 classes, what would they refer to? Why would anyone call it "gender"? In that case, I think, it would simply be an regular class system. --213.6.70.30 11:21, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Classes
Gender systems are simply a subtype of class systems. Some people say gender system for systems like those of the Bantu languages (which are obligatory and trigger agreement, ie behave just like gender systems but with a larger number of divisions). The article clearly needs to discuss the difference between classifier systems and general class systems (which may indeed have 20 different classes), rather than the difference between classifier systems and the more specific gender type systems. I'd also point out there there isn't a clearly demarked difference between the two: since classifiers often evolve into class systems like those of the Bantu languages, we have a cline rather than a binary opposition, with classifiers at one end and a class system at the other.
[edit] Discussion on proposal to merge "Classifiers" with "Measure Words"
Classifiers are distinct from measure words. Measure words allow us to quantify (or count) mass nouns. The measure word is itself the head of the Noun Phrase that contains it -- this is not the case with classifiers. (see section 8.1.2 of "Analyzing Grammar" by Paul R. Kroeger. Cambridge University Press 2005.) By Oborge
-This is not strictly true. Some noun classifiers are the heads of their NPs, depending on the language being considered (that is, whether the classifier or the noun is the head of the NP varies from language to language). See Aikhenvald, Classifiers: A Typology of Noun Classification Devices.
By Chrisdb
[edit] Rewrite
This article had little in it, and it was unclear. I decided to be bold, and rewrite it. FilipeS 21:23, 31 October 2006 (UTC)
