Numeral classifier systems : the case of Japanese / Pamela Downing.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Downing, Pamela.

Series:

Studies in discourse and grammar ; 4.

Studies in discourse and grammar ; v. 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Japanese language--Numerals.

Japanese language.

Japanese language--Classifiers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (356 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Publishing, 1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

NUMERAL CLASSIFIER SYSTEMS THE CASE OF JAPANESE; Editorial page; Title page; Copyright page; Dedication; Preface; Transcription Conventions; Table of Contents; Key to Charts, Figures, and Tables; Chapter 1. Introduction; Types of Classifier Systems; Numeral Classifier Systems; Generic Classifier Systems; Genitive (or Possessive) Classifier Systems; Noun Class (or Gender or Concordial) Systems; Classificatory Verb Stem (or Predicate Classifier) Systems; Problems in Defining Numeral Classifiers; Definition of the Numeral Classifier in Japanese; Classifier Corpus Considered in This Study

Classifier Usage Sample Questionnaire; Core Inventory; Extended Inventory; Classifier Issues of General Interest; The Universality of the Semantic Parameters Underlying Classifier Systems; The Semantic Role of Classifiers; The Structure of the Semantic Field; Interaction with Plurality Markers; Use of Numeral Classifiers as Anaphoric Devices; Numeral Classifiers as Markers of Pragmatic Distinction; Conclusions; Chapter 2. The Japanese System - History and Morphology; The Numeral System of the Eighth Century; The Classifier System of the Eighth Century; Impediments to Evaluating the System

Chinese Influence on the System Conformity to General Expectations Regarding the Structure of Classifier Systems; Morphology and Syntax of the Present-Day System; Numeral Stock - Classifier Stock Correspondences; Numeral-Classifier Assimilation Patterns; A. Numeral Assimilation Processes; B. Classifier Assimilation Processes; Syntactic Positions; Chapter 3. Semantic Properties of System Members; Distributional Differences; 1. Frequency of Use; 2. Breadth of Use; 3. Ability to Appear with No Accompanying Noun or Nominal Antecedent; 4. Order of Acquisition; 5. Alternation with Other Classifiers

Semantic Properties Influencing Distribution 1. Nature of the Referents Associated with the Classifier; 2. Referential Range of the Classifier; 3. Type of Semantic Cohesion Within Referent Class; 4. Internal Structure of the Referent Class; Summary of Semantic Properties of the System; Chapter 4. Structure of the Lexical Field; Previous Analyses; Problems with the Taxonomie Approach; Conclusions; Chapter 5. Instantiation of Universal Semantic Trends in the Japanese Classifier System; Hypothesis 1: Classifiers represent categories of a distinctive semantic type

Hypothesis 2: Because of their distinctive semantic properties, classifiers serve to systematically supplement the information carried by nouns Evaluation in the Light of the Evidence from Japanese: Hypothesis 1; Evaluation in the Light of the Evidence from Japanese: Hypothesis 2; Lexical Interrelation of the Classifier and Noun Systems; Importance of Classifiers Representing Deductive Categories; Conclusions; Chapter 6. The Anaphoric Use of Classifier Phrases; Uses of Numeral-Classifier Pairs Unaccompanied by Nouns; 1. Introducing Referents; 2. Introducing Additional Members of Categories Already Introduced

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [311]-325) and index.

ISBN:

1-283-42433-9

9786613424334

90-272-7611-0

OCLC:

769344128