Numeral classifiers in Nivkh

Abstract

A major aim of this study is to provide a full analysis of the 33 numeral classifiers traditionally used in Nivkh. The paper offers a semantic classification of Nivkh numeral classifiers, presents some data on the origin of the classifiers and considers relevant phonological changes. It discusses structural and morphosyntactic properties of numerals with and without classifiers and gives a comparative survey of the decimal system of cardinal numerals in different dialects of Nivkh. Finally, there are some observations on current radical reduction of numeral classifiers, most of which have either completely vanished or reduced the sphere of their use.

Nivkh palatalisation: articulatory causes and perceptual effects

“…The Sound materials of the Nivkh language project (Shiraishi & Lok 2002–14) publishes data from Nivkh (formerly known as Gilyak), a linguistic isolate spoken by approximately 50 speakers on the lower reaches of the Amur River and on the island of Sakhalin, in the Russian Far East. The project focuses on the dialect of Nivkh spoken on western Sakhalin, which was first described in Shiraishi (2006) and which differs in sometimes interesting ways from the better-documented continental Amur dialects (for descriptions of these dialects see Kreinovich 1937, Panfilov 1962, Gruzdeva 1998 and Mattissen 2003). Recordings are transcribed with the aid of a native speaker and then translated into Russian, English and Japanese 1 .…”

Counting days in Hokkaidō Ainu. Some thoughts on internal reconstruction and etymology

“…As reported in Gruzdeva (2004: 315, data from Krejnovič 1973, Pan-Ghilyak ku means '24-hour period', though this item, as an autonomous lexeme, does not appear glossed in modern-time dictionaries (see, however, expressions like ku vitɣŋ 'calendar' in Tangiku 2008Tangiku : [1285 or pila gu 'gala day, holiday', lit. 'big day ', in, i.a., Savel'eva and Taksami 1970: 260a).…”