Almost all languages have some ways of categorizing nouns. Languages of South-East Asia have classifiers used with numerals, while most Indo-European languages have two or three genders. They can have a similar meaning and one can develop from the other. This book provides a comprehensive and original analysis of noun categorization devices all over the world. It will interest typologists, those working in the fields of morphosyntactic variation and lexical semantics, as well as anthropologists and all other scholars interested in the mechanisms of human cognition.
Readership: Linguistic scholars, in particular those working in the fields of linguistic typology, the interface between syntax and semantics, and linguistic anthropology; psychologists, philosophers, and anthropologists.
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, La Trobe University
"a real treasure...highly stimulating." - Thomas Stolz, Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung
"Aikhenvald's book is the most comprehensive and dependable guide available - it is unique" - Terry Malone, SIL International Book Reviews
"The most thorough attempt to date on noun categorization devices. It surveys about 500 languages which the author claims is one-tenth of all languages." - Language
Chapter 1: Preliminaries Chapter 2: Noun Class and Gender Systems Chapter 3: Noun Classifiers Chapter 4: Numeral Classifiers Chapter 5: Classifiers in Possessive Constructions Chapter 6: Verbal Classifiers Chapter 7: Locative and Deictic Classifiers Chapter 8: Different Classifier Types in One Language Chapter 9: Multiple Classifier Languages Chapter 10: Classifiers and Other Grammatical Categories Chapter 11: Semantics of Noun Categorization Devices Chapter 12: Semantic Organization and Functions of Noun Categorization Chapter 13: Origin and Development of Noun Categorization Devices Chapter 14: Noun Categorization Devices in Language Acquisition and Dissolution Chapter 15: Conclusions Appendix 1: Noun Categorization by Means Other than Classifiers Appendix 2: From Nouns to Classifiers: Further Examples of Semantic Change Appendix 3: Fieldworker's Guide to Classifier Languages
