<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
Dear typologists,<br>
<br>
Cross-linguistic terminology (comparative concepts) should be both
clear and conform to the tradition, in order to preserve continuity
with the older literature.<br>
<br>
In the case of the terms "gender" and "classifier", it seems that
these two goals cannot be achieved simultaneously without coining a
new term ("genifier").<br>
<br>
There is quite a bit of general literature on gender/classifiers
(e.g. Dixon 1986; Grinevald 2000; Aikhenvald 2000; Seifart 2010;
Corbett & Fedden 2016), but none of these works provide clear
definitions of these terms, and the more recent literature (e.g.
Corbett & Fedden, and also Seifart & Payne 2007) actually
emphasizes that there is no reason to say that gender markers and
classifiers are distinct phenomena in the world's languages.<br>
<br>
Thus, it seems to me that we need the new term "genifier", perhaps
defined as follows:<br>
<br>
A <b>genifier system</b> is a system of grammatical markers which
occur on nominal modifiers, predicates or anaphoric pronouns, and
each of which expresses (i.e. normally reflects, but sometimes
contributes) a broad property other than person and number of the
controlling noun (i.e. for nominal modifiers: the modificatum, for
predicates: an argument, for anaphoric pronouns: the antecedent).<br>
<br>
The alternative to coining a new term, it seems to me, would be to
extend the meaning of the term "gender" or of the term "classifier"
in such a way that there would be no more continuity with the
earlier literature.<br>
<br>
Given the above definition of genifier, we can perhaps define
"gender" and "numeral classifier" as follows (as arbitrary
subcategories of genifiers, defined just to preserve continuity with
the older literature):<br>
<br>
A <b>gender system</b> (= a system of gender markers) is a system
of genifiers which includes no more than 20 genifiers and which is
not restricted to numeral modifiers.<br>
<br>
A <b>numeral classifier system</b> is a system of genifiers which
is restricted to numeral (plus optionally other adnominal)
modifiers.<br>
<br>
I wonder if the above definitions have any obvious defects, i.e. any
cases that everyone would call gender or numeral classifier and that
wouldn't fall under the definitions, or cases that fall under them
and that nobody would call gender or numeral classifier.<br>
<br>
Note that the new term "genifier" also has the advantage that the
whole domain can be called <b>genification</b> (rather than the
cumbersome "noun classification/nominal classification", which is
also vague because there are all kinds of "classes" or
"classifications" of nouns which have nothing to do with genifiers).<br>
<br>
Any comments?<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
Martin<br>
<br>
*************************<br>
<br>
References<br>
<br>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=ISO-8859-1">
<div class="csl-bib-body" style="line-height: 1.35; padding-left:
2em; text-indent:-2em;">
<div class="csl-entry">Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. 2000. <i>Classifiers:
A typology of noun categorization devices</i>. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.</div>
<span class="Z3988"
title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_id=urn%3Aisbn%3A978-0-19-926466-7&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Classifiers%3A%20A%20typology%20of%20noun%20categorization%20devices&rft.place=Oxford&rft.publisher=Oxford%20University%20Press&rft.aufirst=Alexandra%20Y.&rft.aulast=Aikhenvald&rft.au=Alexandra%20Y.%20Aikhenvald&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=978-0-19-926466-7&rft.language=English"></span>
<div class="csl-entry">Corbett, Greville G. & Sebastian
Fedden. 2016. Canonical gender. <i>Journal of Linguistics</i>
52(3). 495–531. <br>
</div>
<span class="Z3988"
title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2FS0022226715000195&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Canonical%20gender&rft.jtitle=Journal%20of%20Linguistics&rft.volume=52&rft.issue=3&rft.aufirst=Greville%20G.&rft.aulast=Corbett&rft.au=Greville%20G.%20Corbett&rft.au=Sebastian%20Fedden&rft.date=2016-11&rft.pages=495-531&rft.spage=495&rft.epage=531&rft.issn=0022-2267%2C%201469-7742&rft.language=en"></span>
<div class="csl-entry">Dixon, R. M. W. 1986. Noun classes and noun
classification in typological perspective. In Colette Grinevald
Craig (ed.), <i>Noun classes and categorization</i>, 105–112.
Amsterdam: Benjamins.</div>
<span class="Z3988"
title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_id=urn%3Aisbn%3A978-0-915027-34-7&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Noun%20classes%20and%20noun%20classification%20in%20typological%20perspective&rft.place=Amsterdam&rft.publisher=Benjamins&rft.aufirst=Colette%20Grinevald&rft.aulast=Craig&rft.au=Colette%20Grinevald%20Craig&rft.au=R.%20M.%20W.%20Dixon&rft.date=1986&rft.pages=105-112&rft.spage=105&rft.epage=112&rft.isbn=978-0-915027-34-7&rft.language=English"></span>
<div class="csl-entry">Grinevald, Colette G. 2000. A
morphosyntactic typology of classifiers. In Gunter Senft (ed.),
<i>Systems of nominal classification</i>, 50–92. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.</div>
<span class="Z3988"
title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=A%20morphosyntactic%20typology%20of%20classifiers&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.publisher=Cambridge%20University%20Press&rft.aufirst=Gunter&rft.aulast=Senft&rft.au=Gunter%20Senft&rft.au=Colette%20G.%20Grinevald&rft.date=2000&rft.pages=50-92&rft.spage=50&rft.epage=92"></span>
<div class="csl-entry">Seifart, Frank. 2010. Nominal
classification. <i>Language and Linguistics Compass</i> 4(8).
719–736. <br>
</div>
<span class="Z3988"
title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1111%2Fj.1749-818X.2010.00194.x&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Nominal%20classification&rft.jtitle=Language%20and%20Linguistics%20Compass&rft.volume=4&rft.issue=8&rft.aufirst=Frank&rft.aulast=Seifart&rft.au=Frank%20Seifart&rft.date=2010-08-01&rft.pages=719-736&rft.spage=719&rft.epage=736&rft.issn=1749-818X&rft.language=en"></span>
<div class="csl-entry">Seifart, Frank & Doris L. Payne. 2007.
Nominal classification in the North West Amazon: Issues in areal
diffusion and typological characterization. <i>International
Journal of American Linguistics</i> 73(4). 381–387.</div>
<span class="Z3988"
title="url_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fzotero.org%3A2&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Nominal%20classification%20in%20the%20North%20West%20Amazon%3A%20Issues%20in%20areal%20diffusion%20and%20typological%20characterization&rft.jtitle=International%20Journal%20of%20American%20Linguistics&rft.volume=73&rft.issue=4&rft.aufirst=Frank&rft.aulast=Seifart&rft.au=Frank%20Seifart&rft.au=Doris%20L.%20Payne&rft.date=2007&rft.pages=381%E2%80%93387"></span></div>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Martin Haspelmath (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:haspelmath@shh.mpg.de">haspelmath@shh.mpg.de</a>)
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
Kahlaische Strasse 10
D-07745 Jena
&
Leipzig University
IPF 141199
Nikolaistrasse 6-10
D-04109 Leipzig
</pre>
</body>
</html>