Measure word
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Measure words, in linguistics, are words (or morphemes) that are used in combination with a numeral to indicate the count of nouns. Measure words often classify the noun they modify into some semantic class and consequently measure words are considered numeral classifiers, closely akin, but distinct from grammatical number. Measure words are most often used when counting. Their use is analogous to English words that represent units or portions of mass nouns, for example one drop of milk, fifty head of cattle, three pieces of cake.
Measure words are part of the grammar of most East Asian languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Thai, and Vietnamese, plus the Bengali just to the west of this area, as well as many Indigenous languages of the Americas near the Pacific coast, including Classic Maya.
They are also known as counters, count words, counter words, or counting words.
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[edit] Indo-European languages
In contrast to Asian languages and others, measure words are not grammatical in the case of most Indo-European languages including English.
[edit] English language
English does have a distinction between mass nouns and count nouns, and employs a small number of fixed words that can be considered semantically-oriented counters. Consider the following:
- five head of cattle (said by ranchers)
- ten stem of roses (said by florists)
- three pair of pants (or pairs)
Note that the preceding measure words are singular in form. If they were plural, the first two phrases would have different meanings.
Most measure words in English are more accurately called units of measurement. They are normal count nouns, not grammatical particles. A measure word is the only way to quantify a mass noun:
- three cups of coffee
- four kernels of corn, three ears of corn, two bushels of corn
- one litre of water
A water or a corn (taken in the sense of grain) do not make sense and are almost never heard.
With count nouns, however, measure words are unnecessary. A number alone can be used as an adjective to modify the noun to be counted:
- four pencils
- three horses
However you cannot say "three cattles".
English also features some cases in which the number and the measure word are combined as a single word: for example, when counting
- golfers: twosome, threesome, foursome...
- musicians: solo, duet, trio, quartet...
- wombmates: twins, triplets, quadruplets....
See also collective noun for a concept related to measure words that is found in English.
[edit] Bengali
Although not typical for an Indo-European language, Bengali makes use of measure words. Every noun in this language must have its corresponding measure word (MW) when used with a numeral or other quantifier. Most nouns take the generic measure word ţa, although there are many more specific measure words, such as jon, which is only used to count humans. Still, the number of measure words in Bengali certainly does not compare to that of Chinese or Japanese. As in Chinese, Bengali nouns are not inflected for number.
| Bengali | Literal English translation | Normal English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Nôe-ţa ghoŗi | Nine-MW clock | Nine clocks |
| Kôe-ţa balish | How.many-MW pillow | How many pillows |
| Ônek-jon lok | Many-MW person | Many people |
| Char-pañch-jon shikkhôk | Four-five-MW teacher | Four or five teachers |
Similar to the situation in Chinese, measuring nouns in Bengali without their corresponding measure words (e.g. aţ biŗal instead of aţ-ţa biŗal "eight cats") would typically be considered ungrammatical. However, omitting the noun and preserving the measure word is grammatical and not uncommon to hear. For example, Shudhu êk-jon thakbe. (lit. "Only one-MW will remain.") would be understood to mean "Only one person will remain.", since jon can only be used to count humans. The word lok "person" is implied.
[edit] Russian language
Russian language basically follows English in this aspect.
Russian has a distinction between mass nouns and count nouns, and employs a small number of fixed words that can be considered semantically-oriented counters. Consider the following:
- five heads of cattle (said by ranchers)
- three pairs of pants
- 100 souls of serfs (used during the Russian serfdom)
Note that unlike English, the preceding measure words are plural in form.
Certain numerals (ten, dozen, hundred), etc. may serve as measure words.
[edit] East Asian languages
Languages such as Ainu, Bangla, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai use measure words as the standard way of indicating the count of the number of items, rather than, as in most Indo-European languages, allowing numbers to count a noun directly.
[edit] Chinese
In Mandarin, nouns are not conjugated for singular or plural numerus; a noun without a classifier can be translated as either singular or plural. Classifiers are used when enumerating a count noun:
| Chinese | Literal translation | Grammatically correct translation |
|---|---|---|
| 他有三雙筷子。 他有三双筷子。 Tā yǒu sān shuāng kuaìzi. |
He have three pair chopstick. | He has three pairs of chopsticks. |
| 你有没有七張桌子？ 你有没有七张桌子？ Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu qī zhāng zhuōzi? |
You have-not-have seven [flat-thing classifier] table? | Do you have seven tables? |
| 一個人 一个人 yī ge rén |
one [general classifier] person | one person or a person |
In contrast to the above examples from English, Chinese measure words are obligatory with enumeration of all count nouns; "yī rén" in modern Chinese when used as a measure word is grammatically incorrect, though uses elsewhere, and in classical Chinese, can be found. The choice of a classifier for each noun is a matter of grammar, is somewhat arbitrary, and must be memorized by learners of Chinese. The classifier assigned to a noun often has an imagistic association with that object. Thus, zhāng has table as one of its meanings, and is used for large and thin objects. (Though uncommon, it is even possible to omit the noun if the choice of classifier makes the intended noun obvious.) Not all classifier words derive from nouns. For example, the word bǎ can also be a verb meaning to grab, and is the measure word for objects that have handles.
[edit] Japanese
In Japanese grammar, most nouns are effectively mass nouns, and measure words must be used with a number when counting them. The appropriate measure word is chosen based on the kind and shape of the noun, and combines with the numeral, sometimes adopting several different forms. This is similar to noun classes in many African languages, except that the classifiers are used only when counting.
| Japanese | English, literal | English |
|---|---|---|
| 鉛筆五本 enpitsu go-hon |
pencil five cylindrical-things | five pencils |
| 犬三匹 inu san-biki |
dog three animal-things | three dogs |
| 子供四人 kodomo yo-nin |
child four people-things | four children |
| 鶏三羽 niwatori san-wa |
chicken three bird-things | three chickens |
| ヨット三艘 yotto san-sō |
yacht three boat-things | three yachts |
| 車一台 kuruma ichi-dai |
car one mechanical-thing | one car |
| トランプ二枚 toranpu ni-mai |
playing card two flat-things | two cards |
