The use of classifiers in Vietnamese narrative texts
Author(s):
Daley, Karen Ann Chadbourne
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
M.A.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : The University of Texas at Arlington, 1996.
Pages:
249
Language:
English
Abstract:
Classifiers in Vietnamese are said to have numerous syntactic and semantic functions, including nominalization, individuation, anaphoric reference, and marking definiteness or possession. However, these functions also occur among unclassified NPs, and few classified NPs conform to the so-called prototypical classifier construction for Vietnamese. Consequently, the reason a speaker chooses to use a classifier is not apparent. In this investigation, perhaps the first discourse study of classifiers in Vietnamese to date, I analyze the distribution of classifiers in four narratives, using text based measurements (Referential Accessibility, Referential Distance, Referential Persistence, Overall Frequency; Givon 1983), and four criteria from a study of classifiers in White Hmong (Riddle 1989). The findings indicate 'referential salience' is the basic discourse function for classifiers in Vietnamese.