[Lexicog] Dictionary of a language with classifiers

[Mike Maxwell]

Ron Moe wrote:
> You mention that your classifiers overlap with roots. In that way they
> are more like the English 'head' than the Japanese '-mai'.

In Tucanoan languages (same part of the world as Kim's language, but a
different language family), there is also an overlap of roots and
suffixes for noun classifiers: some classifiers are clearly affixal,
whereas others are clearly roots, and can appear alone as nouns.

Not all nouns need to take these classifiers: in particular, those nouns
that also serve as classifiers do not themselves take classifiers.
Also, abstract nouns don't take classifiers.

Some classifiers also act as nominalizers on verbs.

Finally, there are (semantically-based) gender markers, which function
much the same as classifiers, but on human (or other animate) nouns.

(I've based the above on Cubeo, the Tucanoan language that I'm most
familiar with; details may vary for other Tucanoan languages.)

BTW, these are definitely noun classifiers in Tucanoan languages, not
numeral classifiers as are found in Mayan languages (and, IIUC, Japanese).

--
	Mike Maxwell
	Linguistic Data Consortium
	maxwell at ldc.upenn.edu

	"When I get a little money I buy books;
           and if any is left I buy food and clothes."
	--Erasmus



Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    lexicographylist-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/