Keio University, Mita
July 16, 2023

Genders and classifiers in the perspectiveof dynamic functional typology

Masayoshi Shibatani

Deedee McMurtry Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Rice University
Professor Emeritus, Kobe Univesity
Visiting Professor, National Intititue for Japanese Language and Linguistics

Introduction
Goals• Motivate the tyoological framework dubbed “dynamic functional typology”.
• Starting with a look at the problems of the kind of typology assumed by“The World Atlas of Language Structure” (WALS) by the (former) Leipzig
group.
• Illustrate how the proposed typological framework improves our understandingof the phenomena surrounding classifiers and (grammatical) gender• by allowing a new analysis that (1) unifies classifiers and genders (2) as classifying
nominalizations, as opposed to ordinary nominalizations that yeild nominal structures
denoting “things” and thing-like objects without classification. CLFs/genders nominalize
and then classify what the nominalized structures denote/refer.
• by providing a theoretical framework that (1) constrains synchronic distributions of
CLF-/gender-marked forms and that (2) predicts diachronic developments of classifying
nominalization constructions.

The World Atlas of Language Structures Online
Feature 55A: Numeral ClassifiersDavid Gil. 2013. Numeral Classifiers. In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) WALS Online(v2020.3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7385533 (Available online at
http://wals.info/chapter/55, Accessed on 2023-06-14.)

Problem 1• Isolating classifier-marking of numerals from other cases of CLF-marking, often
involving the same CLFs.
Haas (1942) already points out that the term “numeral classifier” may not
be appropriate in view of the fact that classifiers in languages like Thai markother structures in addition to numeral.

Haas, Mary. 1942 The use of numeral classifiers in Thai . Language 18:201-215.

Northern Thai*
Context

Responses/follow ups

Numeral

NP useModification use

tǔa khây dâay bà-mûaŋ(pə̂ən khây dâay)

2SG want take mango[sɔ̌ɔŋ kɛ̀n]bà-mûaŋ [sɔ̌ɔŋ kɛ̀n]

kìi
kɛ̀n?
how.many CLFFRUIT

two CLF‘(I want) two.CLF’

mango two CLF‘two mangos’‘How many mangos do you want?’
Demonstrative
pə̂ən mii bà-mûaŋ sìi kɛ̀n.
1SG have mango four CLF‘I have four mangos.’[kɛ̀n níi] wǎan.
CLF this sweet‘This one is sweet.’bà-mûaŋ [(kɛ̀n) níi]mango
CLF this‘this mango’*Research on Nothern Thai reported here has been supported by the JSPS project “Cross-linguistic
studies on grammatidal nominalizations: with a focus on classifiers and gender markers” (22H00659
PI: Kazuhiro Kawachi)Context
Genitivetìn
níi cín khɔ̌ɔŋ pə̂ən.
CLFPIECE this meat GEN 1SG‘This is my meat.’
Adjective
tǔa khây dâay mǎa tǔa day?
2SG want take dog CLF which‘Which dog do you want?’
Relative clausecûay aw sîntǔa mày
help take sarong CLF new
maa
hʉ̂ʉ
nɔ̀y!

Responses/follow ups
NP useModification use
cín [khɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa](tìn) [khɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa]meat GEN 2SG
CLF GEN 2SG‘your meat’
mii nǎy?
have where‘Where is yours?’[tǔa nɔ́ɔy]
CLF small‘(The) small (one).ʼmǎa [(tǔa) nɔ́ɔy]dog CLF small‘small dog’(tǔa) [tîihɔ̂ysîn (ǔa) [tîihɔ̂y
CLF NMLZR hang sarong CLF NMLZR hang
nay tûu kǎ]?
nay tûu kǎ]?
in closet Q
in closet Q
come
give
ADV
‘(The one) hanging in ‘The sarong that is hanging‘Please bring me the new sarong!’
the closet?’in the closet?’Position of Nothern Thai

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_language)

Problem 1• Isolating classifier marking of numerals from other cases of CLF marking, often
involving the same CLFs.
• This is unfortunate because the fact that classifiers mark structures other than
numerals is important in understanding the basic function of classifiers
The most widely-held idea on the function of NUM CLF claims that thoselanguages without compulsory singular/plural morphological distinctionneed classifiers to individuate referred objects for the purpose of counting(Greenberg 1994, Chierchia 1998, etc.).
If so, why the same (numeral) classifiers are used to mark Demonstratives, Genitives,
etc., as in Thai, that have nothing to do with counting?

Problem 2• Treating CLFs and grammatical Gender separately

The World Atlas of Language Structures Online
Feature 31A: Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems

Greville G. Corbett. 2013. Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems. In: Dryer, Matthew
S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) WALS Online (v2020.3) [Data set]. Zenodo.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7385533 (Available online at http://wals.info/chapter/31,
Accessed on 2023-06-14.)

• But classifiers and genders are both classificatory systems
1. They both categorize nominal denotations/references
2. They show similar distributions

(Brazilian) Portuguese gender marking
NP useNumeralQuantos carros você vê?
‘How many cars do you see?’(Eu vejo) Um.
(I see) ‘One.M.’

Modification use
um
carro‘one.M car’

Quantas casas você vê?
‘How many houses do you see?

Uma.
‘One.F’uma casa‘one.F house’

Demonstrative
Qual é o seu carro?
‘Which is your car?’

Este.
‘This.M’este carro‘this.M car’

Qual é a sua casa?
‘Which is your house?’

Esta.
‘This.F.’

esta casa‘this.F house’
M=masculine, F=femineNP useModification use

Genitive
De quem é esse carro?
‘Whose is this car?’

Meu.
‘Mine.M’.

meu carro‘my.M car’De quem é essa casa?
‘Whose is this house?’

Minha.
‘Mine.F.’

minha casa
‘my.F house’

Adjective
Qual é o seu carro?
‘Which is your car?’O
branco.
‘The.M white.M.’

carrobranco‘white.M car’

Qual é a sua casa?
‘Which is your house?’Abranca.
‘The.M white.F.’

casa
branca‘white.F house’Relative clause
NP use (Showing a family photo)O[sentado na
cadeira] é meu pai.
the.M sitting.M in.the chairis my father‘The.M [(one) sitting.M in the chair] is my father.’A [sentada na cadeira] é minha mãe.
‘The.F [(one) sitting.F in the chair] is my mother.’
Modification useOhomem [sentado no
cadeira] é meu pai.
the.M mansitting.M in.the chairis my father‘The.M man sitting.M in the chair is my father.’
A mulher [sentada na cadeira] é minha mãe.
‘The.F woman sitting.F in the chair is my mother.’• But classifiers and genders are both classificatory systems
1. They both categorize nominal denotations/references
2. They show similar distributions
3. They both show “agreement”
Germanein
großer Mann
one.M tall.M man(M)‘a/one tall man’Mandarin Chinese*eine große Mann
one.F tall.F man(M)‘a/one tall man’*三eine große Frau
one.F tall.F woman(F)‘a/one tall woman’

三

支

铅笔

sān zhī qiānbǐ
three CLF pencil
本铅笔

sān běn qiānbǐ
three CLF pencil
三本书

sān běn shū
three CLF bookBack to classifiers
Feature 55A: Numeral Classifiers

Assumes holistic language typology:
languages are (a) non-classifying,(b) optionally classifying or (3) classifying.
Such an approach entails erroneous/imperfect characterizations of theuse of CLFs/genders at large andeven limiting attention to NUM CLFs.
David Gil. 2013. Numeral Classifiers. In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) WALS Online(v2020.3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7385533 (Available online at
http://wals.info/chapter/55, Accessed on 2023-06-14.)

At large,
CLF-/Gender marking is construction-specific. Even if it is obligatory with numerals, it may be
optional or impossible with other structures within a single language.
Northern Thai
NUM

DEM

GEN

Cf.

More on this kind of pattern below

Even if we pick up just NUM CLFs, like WALS, we cannot say, more often than not, simply that CLF is
Absent, Optional, or Obligatory.
All the three structures involved in NUM CLF constuctions affect the use of CLFs
NUM CLF N′• CLF Different classifiers may behave differentlyMurui (Witotoan; South-western Colombia; Wojtylak 2017 )General classifier

Specific classifiers

Wojtylak Katarzyna. 2017. A Grammar of Murui (Bue). James Cook University Ph.D. thesis
Now published as A Grammar of Murui (Bue) A Witotoan Language from Northwest Amazonia
Series: Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas, Volume: 15.

Murui Num CLFs
• General classifier forms modify a noun

• Specific classifier forms do notNUM CLF N′
NUM Different numerals may affect the use of CLFs•

In general lower numerals call for CLFs, while higher numerals may not

日本語

A: 昨⽇のシンポジウム、何⼈ぐらい来てた？
B ′：150（人）ぐらいは、来てたやろ。（CLF optional)
B′′: 5 *(人）ぐらいは、来てたやろ。

（CLF obligatory）

Only “one” and “two” are gender-marked in Portuguese and Rumainian, andonly “one” is so marked, as in some Germanic languages, in the other major
Romance languages (more on this below).

But in Miꞌkmaq (Eastern Algonquian) CLFs are limited to numerals 6 and above:Bale, Alan, and Jessica Coon. 2014. Classiﬁers are for numerals, not for nouns: Consequences for the
mass/count dis?nc?on. Linguis'c Inquiry 45:695–707.

You cannot simply say NUM CLF is obligatory or absent

• Numeral “one” behaves differently vis-a-via other numerals
Wuming Zhuang（武鸣壮語): “one” does not occur together with a CLF; CLF w/o a numeralis understood as “one CLF”. “one CLF X”
Cf.
saːm1 pau4 lɯk9ŋe2sɔːŋ1 ta8 nuəŋ4
ko:n3 pit7
tu2 pit7
three CLF childtwo CLF y.sibling
CLF
pen
CLF duck
三
个
孩子
两.
个 妹妹
一 支
笔
一 只 鸭子sān
gè
háiziliǎng gè mèimei
yī zhī
bǐyī zhǐ yāzi‘three children’‘two y. sisters’‘one pen’‘one duck’Bahasa Indonesia
se-*(orang) guru
one-CLF
teacher‘a/one teacher’satu (orang) guru
one CLF
teacher‘a/one teacher’dua (orang) guru
two CLF teacher‘two teachers’Ch’ol (Mayan), numerals of Mayan origin require a classiﬁer (13)(15a), while Spanish-based numerals block it (14)-(15b):
Ch’ol numeral (CLF obligatory)

Spnaish loan numeral (No CLF)

Ch’ol numeral (CLF obligatory)

Spanish loan numeral (No CLF)
(Bale and Coon 2014:701, 702)
Cf. Japanese
Native:hito-ri ‘one (person)’, huta-ri ‘two (persons)’, mit-ari ‘three (persons), yot-tari, *it-tari, *mut-tari…
Chinese loans: *iti-nin (iti-nin mae), *ni-nin (ni-nin mae/gumi), san-nin,*si-nin, go-ni, roku-nin…
yo-ninNUM CLF N′
N′

In some languages CLF marking depends on the head N′.
Vietnamesehai *(cái) chân vịt
two CL propeller (leg duck)‘two propellers’(CLF obligatory)hai (cái) nhà máy
two CL factory (house machine)‘two factories’(CLF optional)

hai màu
two color‘two colors’ (Simpson and Ngo 2018)(CLF not possible)

Hungarian
CLFs generally optional with count nouns

But for a small number of nouns CLF-marking is obligatory

Dékány, Éva. 2022. Classifiers for nouns, classifiers for numerals. Proceedings of NELS 52 (pp.245–258).

Functional typology (機能類型論) reveals other large-scale limitationsof form-based, holistic typology
Resarch method based on the form-function correlation patterns
CLF-(/Gender-) marking is not only construction-specific but also use/function-dependent
NP use/Referring function Modification use/Restricting function(as HEAD of NP)(as MODIFIER of head)
CLF-marking of DEM (this/that)(4 logical possibilities）

NO

NO(English)

YES

YES

(Mandarin)

YES

NO

(Khorta)

NO

YES

?

NP useModification use

EnglishThis is mine.

This book is mine.

Mandarin这 本 是 我的。
Zhè běn shì wǒ de.

这 本 书 是 我的。
Zhè běn shū shì wǒ de.

this CLF

this CLF book COP 1SG NMLZR

COP 1SG NMLZR‘This is mine.’
Khorta#

i=ʈa

hamʌr

‘This book is mine.’lagi

this=CLF 1SG.NMLZR COP.1SG‘This is mine.’

i=*ʈa kitap hamʌrlagi

this=CLF book 1SG.NMLZR COP.1SG‘This book is mine.’
Cf. i kitap= ʈa hamʌr
this book=CLF

lagi

1SG.NMLZR COP.1SG‘This book is mine.’kitap= ʈa hamʌr

lagi

book=CLF 1SG.NMLZR COP.1SG‘The book is mine.’
Indo-Aryan spoken mainly in Jharkhand, India; courtey of Petra P. Paudyal#

Northern Thai

Similar patterns are seen cross-constructionally in a single language

Numeral

NP usetǔa khây dâay bà-mûaŋ(pə̂ən khây dâay)

2SG want take mango[sɔ̌ɔŋ kɛ̀n]bà-mûaŋ [sɔ̌ɔŋ kɛ̀n]kìi

two CLF‘(I want) two.CLF’

mango two CLF‘two mangos’[kɛ̀n níi] wǎan.
CLF this sweet‘This one is sweet.’bà-mûaŋ [(kɛ̀n) níi]mango
CLF this‘this mango’(tìn) [khɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa]CLF GEN 2SG
mii nǎy?
have where‘Where is yours?’

cín *tìn [khɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa]meat CLF GEN 2SG‘your meat’

NO/OPTYES

kɛ̀n?
how.many CLFFRUIT

Modification use‘How many mangos do you want?’
Demonstrative
pə̂ən mii bà-mûaŋ sìi kɛ̀n.
1SG have mango four CLF‘I have four mangos.’
Genitivetìn
níi cín khɔ̌ɔŋpə̂ən.
CLFPIECE this meat GEN 1SG‘This is my meat.’
Again, you cannot simply say
CLFs are obligatory, optional,
or absent in Northern Thai.

is not seen

What is generally believed to be optional marking is revealed to
be untrue once usage patterns are considered

Bale and Coon (2014:699)
A: How many apples did you buy?
B: Armenian (Luiza Kloyan) ‘I bought two (apples).’(1) Erku (hat) xnjor gnec’i. (Optional in Modification use)
two CLF apple buy.AOR.1sg(2) Erku *(hat) gnec’i.
(Obligatory in NP use)two
CLF buy.AOR.1SG(3) Erku (hat).
(Optional in NP use--may be absent in informal speech)
Obligatory CLF-use seen in NP use; similar pattern also seen Turkish (Yu Kuribayashi, Yui Suzuki p.c.)As seen above, form-based, holistic typology assumed in WALS has numerous problems
Feature 55A: Numeral ClassifiersDavid Gil. 2013. Numeral Classifiers. In: Dryer, Matthew S. & Haspelmath, Martin (eds.) WALS Online(v2020.3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7385533 (Available online at
http://wals.info/chapter/55, Accessed on 2023-06-14.)

On the other hand, functional typology, seeking form-function correlations, reveals
very fundamental methodological issues associated with the past approaches toclassifier-/gender-marking and directs us to a more adequate approach.

Methodological problems in the current treatments of gender and CLFs
• Only one of the two major uses/functions of CLF- and gender-marking is seriously considered
Thai numeral
khun tɔ̂ŋkaan mǎa
2SG want
dog
kìi
tua?
how.many CLFBODY‘How many dogs
do you want?

NP use/Referring function(chǎn tɔ̂ŋkaan)[sìi tua].
four CLFBODY(I want) ‘four.CLF.’

Modification use/
Restricting function
mǎa [sìi tua]
dog four CLF‘four dogs’

Portuguese “adjective”
Qual é o seu carro?
‘Which is your car?’O branco.
‘The.M white.M.’

carrobranco‘white.M car’

Qual é a sua casa?
‘Which is your house?’

A branca.
‘The.F white.F.’

casa
branca‘white.F house’

NP use/Referential function is treated secondarily as arising from the deletion of a head nounof the modification structure—similar to the treatment of so-called headless relative clauses.
Cf. Greenberg (1974:19) “It is indeed universal in languages with numeral classifier
constructions that the head noun may be deleted when it has been either previously mentioned
or can be supplied from the non-linguistic context.”

Based on this (problematic) methodological perspective, the following kind of characterizations
have been made
Aikhenvald (2019: p.9) Genders and classifiers. Oxford: OUP?

But there are both classifier- and gender-marked forms, ranging from numerals
to verbal-based nominalizations, that do/can not modify a head noun.
NP use（with no head noun）
Cf. Vietnamese,

Modification use（with a head noun）

YES

NO

Tôi muốn[quả này]
1SG want CLF this‘I want this (e.g., apple).’táo [*quả này]apple CLF this
‘this apple’Summary of the problems in the current methodology
Distribution patterns of NUM+CLF/Gender

NP useData?

Modification use(i) NONO (English)(ii) OPTNO (Marathi)(iii) OPTOPT (Jingpo)(iv) YESNO (Sikuani)(v) YES(vi) YES

OPT
YES(Halkomelem, Tariana, Khorta)(Mandarin, Thai, Newar, Korean, Japanese;
Gender in Portuguese and other IE lgs)

• This type of diverse marking patterns has not been considered.
•Wrong perspective; modification pattern considered to to the starting point of analysis• If the function of CLFs/Genders were to categorize (the referent) of a head noun, (ii) and (iv) would be hard
to explain; (v) would also be problematic.
• Missing the primacy of gender/CLF marking in NP use, as in the case of ordinary nominalizations.

35

Classifier-marked forms that cannot modify
Numerals
Marathi classifier marking
ek-jaN
aal-aaone-CLF came.M
ʻOne (HUMAN) came.ʼ

aʼ. ek *-jaN mulgaa
one CLF boy
ʻone boyʼ

36

Demonstratives
Vietnamese classifier marking on demonstratives
a. tôi thích [con này].
I
like
CLF this‘I like this (e.g. a cat).’

NP usea’. tôi thích con mèo [ *con này].
Ilike CLF cat
CLF this‘I like this cat.’

Modification use

37

Genitive
Northern Thai
NP useModification use[(tìn) [khɔ̌ɔŋ pə̂ən]]
CLF GEN 1SG
mii nǎy?
have where‘Where is mine?’cín [*tìn [khɔ̌ɔŋ pə̂ən]meat CLF GEN 1SG
mii nǎy?
have where‘Where is my meat?’Adjectives, V-based nominalizations
Zauzou若柔語(Tibeto-Burman, Loloish; southern China; (courtesy of Tetsuya Miyagishi)
Stative (“Adjectival”)
a. [ɲa55 ʔõ33] nɛ31 ŋu33 khyi31 ʔõ33
small CLF TOP 1SG dog CLF‘The small one is my dog.’a’. [ɲa55 *ʔõ33] khyi31
small CLF dog‘a small dog’

NP useModification use

Eventiveb. [ʔa33ɲi33 ɕi55 ʔõ33] nɛ31 ŋu33 (zɛ33) ɣou53phõ35
yesterday die CLF TOP 1SG GEN cock
‘The one that died yesterday is my cock.’b.’ [ʔa33ɲi33
ɕi55 *ʔõ33] ɣou53phõ35
yesterday die CLF
cock‘the cock that died yesterday’

NP useModification use
39Gender-marked forms that cannot modify
Numerals
Telugu (Dravidian; courtesy of Niranjan Uppoor)
NP usea. okkaḍu
vacca:ḍu
one.M
came.3M.SG‘One.M came’.

Modification use
a’. okka/*okkaḍu abba:yi
one/one.Mboy‘one boy’b. okkarti vaccindi
one.F came.3F.SG‘One.F came.’b’. okka/*okkarti amma:yi
one/ one.F
girl‘one girl’c. okkaṭi vaccindi
one.N came.3F.SG‘One.N (e.g. a dog) came.’c’. okka/*okkaṭi
one/one.N‘one dog’kukkaludog’

40Demonstratives
Kannada (Dravidian) gender marking (courtesy of Niranjan Uppoor)
a. a-vanu nanna geḷeya
that-M myfriendLit. ʻThat masculine near the third person or someone not present is
my friend.ʼ ʻHe who is away from me is my friend.ʼ
aʼ. aa geḷeya
that friend
ʻthat friendʼ

*a-vanu geḷeya
that-M friendb. i-vaḷu nanna geḷati
this-F myfriendLit. ʻThis feminine one near me is my friend.ʼ
ʻShe who is near me is my friend.ʼ

c. a-dunanna manethat-N myhouse
Lit. ʻThat neuter one is my house.ʼ
ʻThat is my house.ʼ

bʼ. ii huḍugi
this girlʻthis girlʼcʼ. aa manethat houseʻthat houseʼ*i-vaḷu huḍugi
this-F girl*a-du manethat-N house41

Genitives
Kannada (Dravidian) gender marking (courtesy of S.N. Sridhar)a. Aa seevaka(nu) [nanna tande-ya-vanu].
that servant (M)my father-GEN-M
ʻThat manservant is my fatherʼs.ʼ
aʼ. [nanna tande-ya(*-vanu)] seevaka(nu)my father-NMLZR-M
servant(M)ʻmy fatherʼs manservantʼb. Aa seevaki [nanna tande-ya-vaḷu].
that maidmyfather-GEN-F
ʻThat maid is my fatherʼs.ʼ
bʼ. [nanna tande-ya(*-vaḷu)] seevaki
myfather-NMLZR-F
maidʻmy fatherʼs maidʼ

42

Adjectives, V-based nominalizations
Kannada gender marking (courtesy of Niranjan Uppoor)
Stative (“Adjectival”)
a. [[Ettarad-a]-vanu] nanna maga.
tall-NMLZR-M
myson
ʻThe tall one is my son.ʼ

a.ʼ [[[ettarad-a](*-vanu)] huḍuga]tall-NMLZR-M
boy
ʻtall boyʼb. [[Ettarad-a]-vaḷu] nanna magaḷu.
tall-NMLZR-F
my daughter
ʻThe tall one is my daughter.ʼbʼ. [[[[ettarad-a](*-vaḷu)] huḍugi]tall-NMLZR-F
girl
ʻtall girlʼ

Eventivec. [Band-a-vanu] nanna geḷeya.
cʼ. [[Band-a (*-vanu)] huḍuga] nanna geḷeya.
came-NMLZR-M myfriendcame-NMLZR(*-M) boy
myfriendʻThe one.M who came is my friend.ʼ
ʻThe boy who came is my friendʼd. [Band-a-vaḷu] nanna geḷati.
came-NMLZR-F myfriendʻThe one.F who came is my friendʼdʼ. [[Band-a (*-vaḷu)] huḍugi] manna geḷati.
came-NMLZR(*-F) girlmyfriendʻThe girl who came is my friend.ʼ
43

Nominalization analysis of CLF/Gender marking
Must analyze the forms that cannot/do not modify first
Marathi classifier marking
NP use/Referring function
a. don-jaN

Modification use/Restricting function
aal-yaa

two-CLFHUMAN
came.M‘Two (HUMAN(.Epicene)) came.’a’. don *-jaN
mule
two CLFHUMAN boys
‘two boys’

CLF -jaN nominalizes the numeral “don” deriving an N-based NMLZ that
denotes “thing” entities embodying the concept of the quantitative unit
“two”, and which fall in the HUMAN category (e.g., two boys, two men, twoteachers).
Contrary to the conventional wisdom, (numeral) CLFs do not classify thereferent of a head noun, which may not exist. Instead, they operate on
the numeral (and others) (with) which they mark/form constituency.

Same applies to Gender marking
Must analyze the forms that cannot/do not modify first
Telugu gender marking
NP use/Referring function
a. okka-rti vaccindi
one-F
came.3F.SG‘One.F came.ʼ

Modification use/Restricting function
a’. okka *-rti amma:yione-F woman‘one woman’-rti nominalizes the numeral “okka” deriving an N-based nominalizationthat denotes “thing” entities embodying the concept of the quantitative
unit “one”, and which fall in the FEMININE category (e.g. one girl, one
woman, one female teacher)Contrary to Corbett’s (1991, others) analysis, gender marking is not triggeredby an agreement controlling head noun, which may not exist. Instead, genders,just like CLFs, operate on numerals (and others) to/with which they mark/form constituency.

Same analysis holds for those gender/CLF forms that may
also modify, as in Vietnamese numeral CLFs
NP use/Referring func/on

Modiﬁca/on use/Restric/ng func/on

Tôi muốn [ba quả]‘I want three (e.g., apples).’[[ba quả] táo] (simply a use of N-based NMLZ)‘three apples’quả nominalizes the numeral “three” deriving an N-based nominalization that
denotes “thing” entities embodying the concept of the quantitative unit
“three”, and which fall in the quả/fruit category (e.g., apples, mangos,oranges)46

Summary of the nominalizaiton analysis of gender-/classifier-marking
Genders and classifiers are classifying nominalizers that yield/derive
lexical/grammatical nominalizations that denote “things” and thing-ike
entities that are in metonymic relation to the concept of the basestructure and that are classified according to the nominal classes ofthe language.
Portuguese genders[dois]NMLZ.M“two masculine-class things”; e.g. two books,
two cars…

[dois]N.M‘two’

Northern Thai classifiers[sɔ̌ɔŋ]N‘two’[duas]NMLZ.F ”two feminine-class things”; e.g. two cows,
two houses…
[sɔ̌ɔŋ kɛ̀n]NMLZ.CLF ”two fruit-class things”; e.g. two mangos,,wo papayas…’[sɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa]NMLZ.CLF ”two tǔa-class things”; e.g. two dogs, two shirts…
47

Context determines what these nominalized structures actuallydenote when used in discourse
Northern Thai classifiers

Portuguese gender

Context 1
tǔa khây dâay
2SG want takemǎa kìi
tǔa ?
dog how.many CLF‘ How many dogs
do you want?

Context 1
Qual é o seu carro？
‘Which is your car?’[sɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa].
two CLF‘Two.’ (dogs)

Context 2
tǔa khây dâay sîn
2SG want take sarongkìitǔa?
[sɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa].
how.many CLF
two CLF‘How many sarongs‘Two.’ (sarongs)
do you want?’O
branco.
the.M white.M‘The white (one).’ (car)Context 2
Qual é o seu chapéo ?
‘Which is s your hat?’O
branco.
the.M white.M‘The white (one).’ (hat)Cf. Ordinary metonymy:
Speaker A: I heard the health benefit of red wine/orange juice…
Speaker B: Oh, we should then drink a glass a day. (glass > red wine/orange juice)…

Just like ordinary nouns* grammatical NMLZs have two uses
Portuguese
Structure

Use
NP use/[um-a]‘one.F

Northern Thai[kɛ̀n níi]
CLF this

Form

Referring function(Eu veo) [[um-a]]NP.
’(I see) one-F/(one feminine thing).’

Modification use/
Restricting function[[um-a] casa]NP‘one.F house’

NP use/Referring function[[kɛ̀n níi]]NP wǎan.
‘This one is sweet.’

Modification use/
Restricting functionbà-mûaŋ [(kɛ̀n) níi] ]‘this mango’*e.g. [[Cotton]N]NP is in high demand. (NP use)[[cotton]N shirt]NP(Modification use)Evidence supporting our analysis: The nominalization function ofgender-/classifier-marking
Portuguese
Lexical (noun-forming) nominalization by genders‘kill/assasinate’

kill-er

assessin-

assessin-o‘(male) killer’
assessin-a‘(female) killer’-er-o(non-classifying nominalizer)(classifying nominalizers)-aamigo/amiga ‘friend.M/friend.F’, filho/filha ‘son/daughter’, tio/tia ‘uncle/aunt’japonês >japonesa ‘female Japanese’ professor > professora ‘female teacher’,freguês > freguesa 'female customer’, camponês > camponesa ‘female farmer’ ,marquês > marquesa ‘marquise’
doutor > doutora ‘female doctor’, matador > matadora ‘female killer’,cantor > cantora ‘’female singer’
50Grammatical (not nouns) nominalization by gendersO[assessin-o]é meu paiO[sentado na
cadeira] é meu pai
ART.M sitting.M in.the chairis my father‘The one sitting in the chair is my father.’A[assessin-a]
é minha mãeA[sentada na
cadeira] é minha mãe.
ART.F sitting.F in.the chairis my mother‘The one sitting in the chair is my mother.’Cf. Non-classifying nominalization English[Sitting in the chair] is none other than my old man/woman.
Lexical: (I read it in one) [sitting]Northern Thai
Lexical (noun-forming) nominalizations by CLFs
V-basedkhon khàplót ‘driver’

N-basedkhon nʉ̌a

CLF drive(v) car

CLF northhooŋ hianhooŋ yaa‘school’

CLF study(v)kan thǎy

CLF sell (v)‘hospital’

CLF medicine‘plow’

CLF plow (v)láan káa‘northern (Thai) people’kɛ̀n tǎa

‘eyeball’

CLF eye‘shop’

nîw tǐin

‘toe’

CLF foot

Cf. V-based and N-based English nominalizations
sing--er
London-er
speak-er
village-r
wash-er
YouTube-r
52

Grammatical nominalizations
Northern Thaipə̂n sʉ̂ʉ tàwaa] pɛ́ɛŋ khanàat
tǔa [tîiNMLZR 1SG buy yesterday very expensive

NMLZR=nominalizer‘[What I bought yesterday] was very expensive.’(ordinary) non-classifying
nominalization

Classifying nominalizationetc.

CLF-marking derives a new nominal structure with a new setof denotations, just like a diminutive derivation such as,
53

Diminutive derivation/nominalization (=derivation of nominals)

pig
pigletGrammatical nominalizations
Northern Thai

tǔa
[tîi
pə̂n sʉ̂ʉ tàwaa] pɛ́ɛŋ khanàat
lém
NMLZR 1SG buy yesterday very expensive‘what I bought yesterday was very expensive’etc.

Another new struture with a new set of denotations
55

What is known as a relative clause is no more than a modification useof V-based grammatical nominalizations
NP use[(tǔa) [[tîipə̂n sʉ̂ʉ tàwaa]CLF NMZLR 1SG buypɛ́ɛŋ khanàat]NMLZ]NMLZ

yesterday very expensive‘What/The one I bought yesterday was very expensive.’
Structure: V-based grammatical nominalizations[(tǔa) [tîipə̂n sʉ̂ʉ tàwaa] pɛ́ɛŋ khanàat]NMLZ]NMLZ
CLF NMZLR 1SG buy yesterday very

Modification use
sîn [(tǔa) [tîiexpensive

pə̂n sʉ̂ʉ tàwaa]pɛ́ɛŋ khanàat]NMLZ]NMLZ

skirt CLF NMZLR 1SG buy yesterday very expensive‘The skirt that I bought yesterday was very expensive.’

There is nothing like a relative clause as an independent structure apart fromthe use of a V-based grammatical nominalization as a modifier.
56

Dynamicization of functional typology
Accounting for crosslinguistic marking patterns
Telugu (Dravidian; courtesy of Niranjan Uppoor)a. okkaḍu
vacca:ḍu
one.M
came.3M.SG‘One.M came’.

a’. okka/*okkaḍu abba:yi
one/one.Mboy‘one boy’b. okkarti vaccindi
one.F came.3F.SG‘One.F came.’b’. okka/*okkarti amma:yi
one/ one.F
girl‘one girl’c. okkaṭi vaccindi
one.N came.3F.SG‘One.N (e.g. a dog) came.’c’. okka/*okkaṭi
one/one.N‘one dog’kukkaludog’

There is no logical reason that gender-marked numerals cannot modify a head noun, as in Telugu, in view ofKannada (Dravidian) obba-ḷu huḍugi
one-F
girl
‘one girl’

Nepali (Indo-Aryan)

Tin
oT-A
keT-A
three CLF.COUNT-M.PL child-M.PL'three boys’57Same can be said about restirctions in CLF-marking
NP useVietnamese

Tôi muốn [quả này]
1SG want
CLF this‘I want this.’

Northern Thai[kɛ̀n níi] wǎan.
CLF this sweet‘This one is sweet.’X

Modification use

Early stagetáo[*quả này]apple
CLF this‘this apple’NObà-mûaŋ [(kɛ̀n) ní] OPTmango
CLF this‘this mango’Zauzou (Loloish)[ʔa33 ʔõ31] nɛ31 ŋu33 pe33 ze33 khyui31
this CLF TOP 1.PL.EXCL GEN dog‘This is our dog.’

khyui31 [ʔa33 ʔõ31 ]dog
this CLF‘this dog’

YES
Late stageof change

Plausible explanation is a diachronic one, namely gender-/CLF-marking spreads from NP-use domain
to the modification context across time, but the timing of the spread varies across languages.

Dynamic functional-typological perspective
NP use/Referring

Modification use/
Restricting NUM+CLF/Gender(i) NONO

English(ii) OPT InnovationNO

Marathi

OPT

Jingpo(iv) YESNO

Sikuani(v) YES Innovation

OPT

Halkomelem, Tariana, Khortha,

YES

Mandarin, Thai, Newar,
Korean, Japanese; Gender in IE(differentiation)(iii) OPT
Spreading(uniformity)(differentiation)(vi) YES
Spreading(uniformity)

Starting point: the NP-use forms must be the starting point of analysis.
The other crosslinguistic marking patterns represent the developmental
stages of the CLF/Gender marking. Like,

What motivates this kind of alternating pattern of change of innovation andspreading/leveling?

59

Pioneer functionalists
The more economical or more abundant use of linguistic means ofexpressing a thought is determined by the need…Everywhere we findmodes of expression forced into existence which contain only just somuch as is requisite to their being understood.
Paul, Hermann 1880/1889. Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte(Halle: Max Niemeyer; Translation by H.A. Strong 1881/1891
and by Hans Hock 1991)

In order to understand how and why a language changes,
the linguist must keep in mind two ever-present andantinomic factors: first, the requirements of communication, “Hearer’s
economy”
the need for the speaker to convey his message, andsecond, the principle of least effort, which makes him“Speaker’s
restrict his output of energy, both mental and physical, toeconomy”
the minimum compatible with achieving his ends.
Martinet, André 1962. A Functional View of Language.
Oxford: Clarendon Press. P.139
Speaker’s economy > Simplification/form uniformity (S) > Reflecting the unity/oneness ofthe conceptual category involved
Hearer’s economy > Diversification/formal variation (D) >Reflecting differences in communicative function(e.g., referring or restricting the denotation?)

Crosslinguistic difference in the marking pattern
Starting point is the forms that cannot/do not modify
Marathi classifier marking
NP use/Referring function

Modification use/Restricting function

a. don-jaN
aal-yaa
two-CLFHUMAN came-M‘Two (HUMAN(.Epicene)) came.’Xa’. don-*jaN
mule
two CLFHUMAN boys
‘two boys’

Forms are differentiated according to theiruse/functions

Nepali classifier marking
NP use/Referringl function
a. ek dᶻʌna
a-e-k-othij-o.
one CLFHUMAN come-PST-PERF-M was-M.PST‘One (HUMAN(.M)) had come.’

Modification use/Restricting function
a’. ek dᶻʌnakeʈoone CLFHUMAN boy‘one boy’Form identity reflecting the shared conceptual category(of classifying nominalizations)

Nepali is a step ahead of Marathi in the spreading of the CLF marking to
the modification context. The former has achieved the speaker’s economy, while
the latter maintains the hearer’s economy.

Same pattern of development seen in gender marking
Telugu gender marking (as in Tamil and Malayalam)
NP use/Referringl function
Modification use/Restricting function
a. okka-rti vaccindi
a’. okka *-rti amma:yi
one-F
came.3F.SG
one -F woman
X‘One.F came.ʼ
‘one woman’

Kannada gender marking
NP use/Referring function
a. obba-ḷu bandaḷu
one-F
came.3FSG‘One.F came.’

Modification use/Restricting
a’. obba-ḷu huḍugi
one-F
girl
‘one girl’

Kannada is a step ahead of Telugu in the spreading of gender marking
to the modification context to achieve the speaker’s economy.

Manner of spreading of nominalization markers

Point ofinnovation（Shibatani and Shigeno 2013: 120)
Shibatani, Masayoshi and Hiromi Shigeno. 2013. Amami nominalizations. International Journalof Okinawan Studies, Vol. 7. 107-139.
63

Patterns of spread of nominalization markers
Grammatical-nominalization space
CLF/Gender marking
NP useUse/functionalcorrelates

Modification
use

Structural dimension

NUM >

DEM

>

GEN

>

ADJ

> V-based NMLZ

NUM >

DEM

>

GEN

>

ADJ

> Vbased NMLZ

Constraints on synchronic distributions of nominalizaton markers, incl CLFs/Genders• Cross-dialectal/linguistic variations in CLF-/Gender-marking are expected due to communicative dynamism• (Overt) CLF-/Gender-marking is likely found (in the NP-use context) at the left edge of the hierarchy• Universal constraints can drawn along the two dimensions, similar to the Keenan-Comrie attempt on thoseon relative clause constructions
Predications on diachronic developments of nominalization markers, incl CLFs/Genders• A historicallly older form of a language shows a less developed pattern of CLF-/Gender-marking• Cross-dialectal/linguistic variations are expected, reflecting the historical pattern above

64

No mark=CLF-marking obligatory, OPT=optional marking, *OPT=“optional”; marking
when the referent is definite, *X=markingof X not possible

Implications for non-gender/non-CLF languages
Describing “adnominals” (noun modifiers) in English?
NumeralDemonstrative
Genitive/Possessive
Adjective
Relative clauseNounthree dogs
this dog, that dog
my dog, my neighbor’s dog
white dog,
The dog [which is barking] is yours.
cotton shirt, London parks

Why do these forms belonging to different parts of speech(word classes)/constructions all modify a noun? Do they haveanything in common, which unifies them and allows them tofunction as a noun modifier?
67

What CLF/Gender languages suggest
Numeral three dogs
Demonstrative this dog, that dog

These modifiers
are allgrammatical
Genitive/Possessive my dog, my neighbor’s dog
nominalizations
Adjective white dog,in modification
Relative clause The dog [which is barking] is yours.
use

Noun cotton shirt, London parks
We have seen that these “adnominals” from numerals to
relative clauses are a unified phenomenon as indicated bygender-/classifier-marking; they are all nominalized structures..

What modifies a noun isn’t a NUM, DEM, etc. but a derived nominal
structure, similar to nouns (e.g., cotton, London).
68Some internal evidence for the nominalization analysis of English adnominals
Basic meanings of numerals(1) quantitative units(Talking about numbers denoting quantitative units)
Two is larger than one. (quantitative unit > a singular verb form)
Dois é maior que um. (Portuguese)(2) numeral letters(Looking at the above numeral letters)
One is blue and two is red. (a letter “2” > a singular verb form)
Um é azul e dois é vermelho.
69But when numerals nominalize, they denote“things” (metonymic to the basic quantitative units; “things”
embodying the basic numeral concepts)
Speaker A: Are there cows out there?
Há vacas ali? (Portuguese; feminine denotation)
Speaker B: Yes, I see three.
two “things” > a plural verb form
Sim, eu vejo três.
One iseating grass, and two are drinking water.
Uma está comendo capim e duas estão bebendo água.
two feminine “things” > a F pluralverb form

Speaker A: Are there cars out there?
Há carros ali? (masculine denotation)
Speaker B: Yes, I see three.
B: Sim, eu vejo três.

two “things”> a plural verb form
One is blue and two are red.
Um é azul edois são vermelhos.
70

two masculine “things” > a M plural verb form

Traditional analysis of genitives; as noun declension/case inflection
Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. 1985.
A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Essex: Longman.
P. 336Modiﬁcation-use forms

NP-use forms

One immediate probrem with this: what about Johnʼs, myneighboorʼs, which are not pronouns?
Many languages treat these as a uniﬁed phenomenon:
mǎa [khɔ̌ɔŋ tǔa] ‘your dog’, mǎa [khɔ̌ɔŋ Kultida] ‘Kultida’s dog’ (Northern Thai)Major problems with the traditional analysis of genitives/possessives

These two groups of forms differ significantly in bothsemantic and syntactic properties, warranting two separate
treatments

Semantically, Subective (or Nominative) and Objective (or Accusative)
forms (I/me, you/you, he/him, etc.), on the one hand, and Possessive(or Genitive) forms (my/mine, your/yours, his, etc.), on the other,denote/refer to different entities
I (pə̂ən) like you.
Look at me (pə̂ən) !

Refer to the speaker

Look at mine (khɔ̌ɔŋ pə̂ən) !

Refers to what is metonymically/
intimately connected to the speaker

Etc.

73

Syntactically, Subjective/Objective forms and Genitive forms
are distributed differently
Subject position
He/*him/his/John’s is big.
Object position
Look at *he/him/his/Johns.
Modifier position*he/*him/his/John’s book•

Subjective forms occur only in subject position.
Object forms cannot; but Genitive/possessive
forms can.
Object forms occur only in object position
Subject forms cannot; but Genitive/possesive
forms can.

Inflected forms occur only in specific syntactic
positions• Genitives/Possesives, on the other hand, denote things, like ordinary nouns—they aregrammatical nominalizations marked by inflectional morphology or cliticization of /z/(written as ’s). Syntactically, they occur anywhere like ordinary nouns.
We see this clearly in CLF languages because things
denoted by genitives may be classified;tǔa Northern Thailém [khɔ̌ɔŋ pə̂ən] pɛ́ɛŋ khanàatkɛ̀n ‘Mine is very expensive.’Impllications for classifier/gender languages
Nominalization does not necessarily exhibit overt marking:e.g. [three]N ‘three’ > [[three]N]NMLZ ‘three (things)’

There can be classiffying
nominalizations that do notexhibit overt marking.

Of the major Romance languages Portuguese and Romanian both morphologically distinguishgender for “one” and “two” but not for higher numbers; the others do so only for “one”.
overtly gendered/classifying
Esses doissão meus.
ʻThese two.M are mine.M..ʼ
Essas duas são minhas.
ʻThese two.F are mine.F.ʼ

dois carros
ʻtwo carsʼ
duas casas
ʻtwo housesʼ

covertly gendered/classifying
Essestrês são meus.
ʻThese.M three are mine.M.ʼ
Essastrês são minhas.
ʻThese.F three are mine.F.ʼ

três carrosʻthree carsʼ
três casas
ʻthree housesʼ

One should not assume thata given form is not classifying
simply because morphologicalmarking is absent.