The structural status of Bora classifiers

Authors

David J. Weber, SIL-UND

DOI

10.31356/silwp.vol46.02

Abstract

I claim that Bora classifiers have the structural status of (bound) nouns, based on facts like the following:

• Some classifiers also occur as independent nouns (possibly with minor phonological differences).
• Classifiers have the referential properties typical of nouns. Like typical nominals, they denote classes of objects and may refer to a member of the class they denote. They are never used to attribute properties to another referring expresssion.
• Classifiers have the distribution typical of nouns: they may be a clausal subject, they may be modified by a relative clause, they may have a prepositional complement, and so forth.

And classifiers head noun phrases, a claim for which various arguments are given, among them one based on the remarkable similarity between the host-classifier and possessor-possessed constructions.

Recommended Citation

Weber, David J. (2002) "The structural status of Bora classifiers," Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session: Vol. 46, Article 2.
DOI: 10.31356/silwp.vol46.02
Available at: https://commons.und.edu/sil-work-papers/vol46/iss1/2