| This study compares the semantic basis for numeral classes in over fifty languages and dialects of the Mon-Khmer, Nicobarese and Aslian subfamilies of Austroasiatic. It considers the grounds by which the languages group together animates, natural objects and artifacts of one-, two- and three-dimensional shapes. Some of the semantic bases that are found for grouping animates includes: 'human' or 'non-human'; religious or social considerations such as kinship, class, distance from Buddha, and economic value; function; and shape. With natural objects, groupings are found for specific types of objects. More frequently natural objects are counted together with various artifacts on the basis of such concepts as shape, material, size, flexibility, function, value and other more culturally specific notions.;Finally, on the basis of the information learned through the analysis of the Austroasiatic systems, this study evaluates earlier discussions which speculate on the origin, function, and form of numeral classifier systems and of nominal classifier systems in general.;Austroasiatic is one of the oldest language families in the Southeast Asian area. It extends from India to the east coast of Asia. It includes languages spoken in the north, in southern China and in the south down the Malay peninsula and onto the Nicobarese Islands. Both the Austroasiatic cultures and languages have been influenced by other cultures in the area, i.e. by the Austronesian, Sino-Tibetan, Tai and Indian cultures. In their turn, the Austroasiatic cultures have also had a substratum influence on these other cultures. This study, as far as has been possible, distinguishes Austroasiatic numeral classifiers from those that have been borrowed from other languages. In addition to merely considering the classifier morphemes in the borrowing process, it also compares the semantic bases for classes to see if these also might have been borrowed or if they are unique to the Austroasiatic languages. |
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