| The purpose of this dissertation is to examine noun classifiers from an extra-linguistic perspective. It makes two basic claims: the grammatical category Classifier (i) is based on the extra-linguistic notion of animacy, and (ii) is formed through the diachronic process of grammaticization.; As for the first claim, animacy is often noted as a conditioning factor for a variety of linguistic phenomena. It plays a role, for instance, in conditioning the use of topics, object-verb agreement, definite Determiners, and Genitive Case, but with respect to each of these animacy is usually considered only one of several motivating factors. With the exception of Person, animacy is rarely considered a primary motivating factor in its own right. It is proposed here, however, that one area of grammar where animacy asserts itself is noun classification. Specifically, it is proposed that the grammatical category Classifier is a means of encoding into language differentiations in the extra-linguistic category Animate. Classification systems are based on nouns high in animacy that form prototypes around which other nouns self-organize gradiently.; With respect to the second claim, it is commonly noted that classifiers have semantic correlates in the manner of lexical items, but also behave as formal grammatical devices. The ambiguous role of classifiers is likely the result of a diachronic process of grammaticization, and it is proposed that the recognition that classifiers are former lexical items which have grammaticized over time is a necessary starting point in accounting for their morphosyntactic behavior. Specifically, it is suggested that (i) grammaticization creates frozen morphology in the former verb stems of possessive classifiers, (ii) that the grammaticization of a classifier from a lexical verb precludes agent nominalization, and (iii) that grammaticization is likely a contributing factor in the prevalence of classifiers as minimal existential or copula-like predicates. |
