Lexical conceptual structure of numeral classifiers in Thai -- Part 1

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Authors: 
Issue Date: 
1999-03
Publisher: 
Payap Research and Development Institute and The Summer Institute of Linguistics
Publisher Place: 
Chiang Mai
Extent: 
22 pages
Abstract: 

Standard Thai exhibits a complex noun classifier system categorizing the world for the Thai. One category, bay, consists of objects such as leaves, paper documents, files, cups, plates and car batteries among other things. Another category, luuk, classifies objects such as fruit, balls, candy, monsoons and car keys. Furthermore, certain objects, such as baskets, gongs and mattresses can be classified by either bay or luuk, imposing a degree of semantic skewing across these categories. Are these categories arbitrary and random or is there internal structure motivating them? Are the classifiers themselves merely grammatical devices or do they also have inherent semantic content, which they contribute to the meaning of the noun phrase? While some research on Thai classifiers has been presented (Delancey 1986; Placzek 1978), I am aware of none that pursue an in depth synchronic analysis implying the need for an integrated account of semantics and grammar.

First, I demonstrate that the categories of bay and luuk are indeed semantically structured employing prototype effects similar to those discussed in Lakoff (1987). Secondly, the data that show semantic skewing between bay/luuk find motivation under this prototype analysis. This section of research is presented here in Part 1. Finally, Part 2 of this research (Inglis: to appear) reveals that the classifiers themselves are shown to not only grammatically link a noun with its quantifier/qualifier but also contribute semantic content, such as shape and function, to the meaning of the noun itself. That is, the classifiers are not just arbitrary syntactical units that help construct the Thai grammatical noun phrase but also important semantic symbols that provide additional reference to the overall meaning invoked. This evidence from Thai supports a theoretical framework along the lines of Langacker (1991). Such a framework requires grammatical and semantic structure to be analyzed under a single integrated theory. Appealing to general cognitive capacities, such as organizing categorial structure around prototypes and the sanctioning of category members in terms of degrees of divergence from such prototypes, helps to capture explicitly the full linguistic motivation for noun quantification in Thai.

The present investigation motivates the synchronic ‘incoherent aggregatins’ (Delancey 1986) found in a modern language like Thai, but also points out the direction for future diachronic research, such as the chronology of innovations that a complex system might take to classify categories in its evolved state; or, the etymological beginnings of the classifiers themselves.

Publication Status: 
Preprint
Table of Contents: 
Abstract -- Table of contents -- Table of figures -- Introduction -- The Numeral Classifier Phenomenon -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References
Country: 
Thailand
Subject Languages: 
Content Language: 
Field: 
Work Type: 
Nature of Work: 
Entry Number: 
63397