A Note on the Syntax and Semantics of Chinese Classifiers
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We examine the structure of classifier constructions in Mandarin Chinese in light of Little et al.’s (2022) proposal on the semantics of two kinds of classifier constructions and Zhang's (2011, 2013) analysis of classifiers in Chinese. Little et al. propose that classifiers either compose first with nouns (classifiers-for-nouns) or compose first with numerals (cllassifiers-for-numeruals). The semantic denotation of numerals is different in both cases. Zhang proposes that Chinese has both structures. Taking both proposals at face valve would require us to assume that numerals are listed twice in the lexicon in Chinese (once for each denotation in Little et al.’s models). We critically examine Zhang's diagnostics and conclude that Chinese has only the classifier-for-nouns structure. A tentative semantic analysis is provided.
Abstract
We examine the structure of classifier constructions in Mandarin Chinese in light of Little et al.’s (2022) proposal on the semantics of two kinds of classifier constructions and Zhang's (2011, 2013) analysis of classifiers in Chinese. Little et al. propose that classifiers either compose first with nouns (classifiers-for-nouns) or compose first with numerals (cllassifiers-for-numeruals). The semantic denotation of numerals is different in both cases. Zhang proposes that Chinese has both structures. Taking both proposals at face valve would require us to assume that numerals are listed twice in the lexicon in Chinese (once for each denotation in Little et al.’s models). We critically examine Zhang's diagnostics and conclude that Chinese has only the classifier-for-nouns structure. A tentative semantic analysis is provided.