Northern Pwo Karen Numeral Classifiers: Semantic Categories and Structures

Abstract

Descriptions of the numeral classifier systems of Karenic (Tibeto-Burman) languages are limited to Eastern Kayah (Solnit 1997), Thai Sgaw Karen (Ratanakul 2001), and Kayan (Manson 2010). Thus, this paper aims to expand knowledge about Karenic classifiers by describing the numeral classifiers in a Northern Pwo Karen 103,000-word corpus of mostly narrative texts. Northern Pwo Karen is an under-documented Karenic language that is not intelligible with other Pwo Karen language varieties. The numeral classifiers include a small inventory of sortal classifiers and a more extensive inventory of mensural classifiers. Both sortal and mensural classifiers occur in interrogative and indefinite reference expressions. They also appear in adverbial phrases that provide more information about events.