Classifiers In Qinzhou Variety Of Cantonese

Qinzhou variety of Cantonese,one of the representatives of Guangxi Cantonese dialects,is rich in classifiers.As a hot topic in vocabulary researches,the research of classifiers can help to explore not only the semantic functions of lexical categories but also the syntactic functions and the development of classifiers.The existing literature shows that there are a few researches on classifiers in Qinzhou variety of Cantonese,and most of them still lack a systematic description and in-depth investigation.Therefore,a systematic study on classifiers in Qinzhou variety of Cantonese is of great value for academic reference.In this regard,on the basis of the data collected through fieldwork,and with related theories in semantics,syntax and typology,the present thesis attempts to make a detailed description and analysis of classifiers in Qinzhou variety of Cantonese,aiming to answer the following questions:(1)How many types of classifiers are there in Qinzhou variety of Cantonese? What are the co-occurrence orders of classifiers,numerals and nouns?(2)What are the semantic and syntactic functions of these different types of classifiers?The research reveals that there are abundant classifiers in Qinzhou variety of Cantonese.These classifiers can be divided into three main categories,namely,noun classifiers,verb classifiers and multicategory classifiers.Among them,the number of noun classifiers accounts for the largest part,which can be further divided into five sub-categories according to their features.All of these classifications intuitively reflect different features.As for the co-occurrence orders of classifiers,numerals and nouns,three types can be generalized,namely,‘NUM + CL + N’,‘N + NUM + CL’,and ‘N + CL + NUM’.More importantly,it is worth noting that different components can be omitted in different types under certain conditions.In terms of semantic function of classifiers in this language,five aspects are concluded: expressive functions,reduplication,rhetorical functions,definiteness and semantic generalization,while the syntactic functions are mainly reflected by the different components that classifiers serve in sentences.As far as the origin of these classifiers is concerned,most of them are derived from nouns or verbs denoting actions,while some of them are borrowed from surrounding languages such as Zhuang or dialects like Hakka.The thesis systematically describes the semantic and syntactic functions of Qinzhou variety of Cantonese,which is helpful to recognize the characteristics of classifiers in this language,and then provides case references for related researches.