Semantic function of "existential aspect" of classifiers and its grammaticalization in Zhuang

Abstract

<p>The function of classifiers to “individuate” and “classify” nouns has been commonly noted in previous studies (e.g. Lyons 1977: 463, Bisang 1999: 113), but has not been substantiated in detail. Because of the concept itself, the common reaction to a classifier is that it is essentially a “class/category” and that the noun it modifies is the “subject”. By analyzing the semantics of the various syntactic structures formed by the combination of Zhuang classifiers and nouns, this study finds that classifiers and the nouns they modify have an aspect that contradicts the above “common sense”, namely that classifiers have a semantic function of denoting the existence of things, designated here as “existential aspect” which is the semantic basis for their “categorical function”. In Zhuang, “existential aspect” of classifiers is found to be the result of the grammaticalization of nouns in the following processes: (i) the noun stage of denoting something solid; (ii) the noun stage of referring to something else; (iii) the stage of noun division between “existence” and “class”, i.e. classifiers are used to denote the “existent” form of things (individual reference), and nouns are used to denote the “class” of things (class reference). This finding suggests that the lexical status of a classifier derives from its “existential aspect”. This paper further proposes that grammaticalization of classifiers was motivated by: (a) the ease of referring to and counting similar things; and (b) the principle of linguistic economy. The establishment of “existential aspect” of Zhuang classifiers can explain relevant grammatical phenomena in a more rational way.</p><p>Reference<br>Bisang,Walter. 1999.Classifiers in East and Southeast Asian languages: Counting and beyond. In Jadranka Gvozdanović (ed.), Numeral Types and Changes Worldwide, 113-185. Berlin: Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton.<br>Lyons,John. 1977. Semantics, Vol.2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</p>