Classifiers are for specification: Complementary Functions for Sortal and General Classifiers in Cantonese and Mandarin

Abstract

Cantonese uses over five times more sortal classifiers (,extended object' tiuh 条) than Mandarin to describe Chafe's 'Pear Stories' film. Forty percent of nouns appear without a classifier. Just 18% of Cantonese nouns and 3% of Mandarin take a sortal. Stories are near-identical. Classifiers reveal differences in grammar, not cognition.

The acquisition of Cantonese classifiers by preschool children in Hong Kong

“…It was also found that most of the first classifiers are noun classifiers, with few being verb classifiers. The significant predominance of noun classifiers would be well received by Cantonese linguists (Killingley, 1983 ;Yip & Matthews, 2000;Erbaugh, 2002). In addition to the predominance of noun classifiers, three other types of predominance were found within the noun classifiers.…”

“…The actual acquisition of such proficiency by Cantonese speakers in early childhood is a fascinating research area per se and it also illuminates the mental processes of categorization in young learners. Although there is considerable research into the acquisition of Cantonese classifiers (Poon, 1980 ;Loke & Harrison, 1986;Mak, 1991 ;Szeto, 1996 ;Wong, 1998Wong, , 2000Wei & Lee, 2001 ;Erbaugh, 2002), there is a dearth of large-scale studies using representative samples to permit the establishment of norms.…”

“…According to the proposed typologies of both Allan (1977) and Aikhenvald (2000), Cantonese is a numeral classifier language in which enumeration or quantification requires the use of a classifier as a bound form to designate semantic features or the quantum of whatever is being enumerated. Cantonese has a large set of classifiers and the classifier system is intricate (Erbaugh, 2002). It is widely accepted that noun classifiers and verb classifiers are differentiated according to whether they classify nouns or verbs (Mak, 1991 ;Szeto, 1998 ;Wong, 2000 ;Yamamoto, 2005).…”

“…The majority of Cantonese classifiers are noun classifiers (Szeto, 1998 ;Erbaugh, 2002), thus the subsequent review focuses on these 'noun categorization devices' (Aikhenvald, 2000). Two main types of noun classifiers predominate : ' sortal' and ' mensural ' (Lyons, 1977).…”

Classifiers as Count Syntax: Individuation and Measurement in the Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese

“…Classifier languages are subject to important variation in how classifiers are used. For example, in some Chinese dialects, classifiers can appear in the absence of numerals to express definite and indefinite reference (Cheng & Sybesma, 2005), which influences the frequency of classifiers in the languages (Erbaugh, 2002). Such differences could have important consequences for the course of acquisition, since children would not only encounter classifiers more frequently, but also could begin producing classifiers regardless of whether they have acquired numeral meanings (a process which typically extends beyond children’s fourth birthday; e.g., Wynn, 1992).…”