A cognitive approach to the genesis of numeral classifiers in Mandarin Chinese
从认知角度探讨上古汉语各量词的起源
Yau Shun-chiu 游顺钊

Abstract 摘要
Haas (1942) wrote the first article entirely devoted to classifiers, in this case with reference to Thai, in a major linguistic journal. Since then the literature on the subject has increased substantially. Certain interesting aspects of classifiers, however, remain untreated, notably the evolution of this linguistic category in one particular language. Classifiers constitute the only grammatical category in the Chinese language whose emergence dates well after the beginning of recorded history. Since Chinese is rich in this category and sufficiently documented with written texts as ancient as the 14th century B.C., it is therefore well placed as an appropriate if not ideal language for tracing the evolution of a classifier system. In this article, I mainly deal with the genesis of this grammatical category in Chinese from a cognitive point of view. Based on evidence from Archaic Chinese, I argue that the emergence of this grammatical category was first motivated by a mnemonic necessity often manifested in language. It was these mnemonic devices that later evolved into what is now called classifiers. I limit my arguments to the Chinese case, but I strongly believe that the principle underlying my arguments will ultimately find echoes in some other classifier languages.

哈斯在一九四二年根据泰语为一份重要语言学学报撰写了第一篇量词专着。自后，有关量词文章在数量上和质量上都有显着的增加和提高。然而量词好些方面，特别是它的演化过程，仍待探讨。量词是汉语唯一的，产生于文献时期后的语法词类。汉语不单只富于量词，而且有较充分的，上推至公元前十四世纪的文献资料。因此，汉语若不是理想的，起码是追索量词演化的一个适当语言。本文主要从认知角度去探讨量词的起源。我根据上古汉语资料，提出量词的出现是源于语言上记忆需要这一说法。最早的量词，有称之回响量词，正体现这种语言上的记忆手段。我们的论证只限于汉语，但我深信这论证所据的原则终会在其它具有量词的语言里获得进一步的数据的支持。

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