Chapter 4
The Categorical Structure of the Classifier Zak2 (隻) in Hakka
4.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the meaning and conceptual structure revealed in zak2 (隻)--a widely used classifier in Hakka. Previous studies on Mandarin, a dialect of Chinese, (e.g., Tai and Wang 1990, Tai 1992, Tai 1994) have already demonstrated that the shape classifiers reflect human cognition. For example, tiao (條) is typically collocated with entities with long shape; zang (張) is collocated with entities with flat shape. In the present chapter, we are going to examine what the conceptual structure is like via investigating the occurrences of a widely used animacy classifier--zak2. The present study will show that the animacy classifiers can be analyzed in terms of specific semantic features just like the shape classifiers.
The classifier zak2 in Hakka may co-occur with a variety of noun phrases, belonging to different semantic fields. According to Loke (1997), the collocation between classifiers and nouns in Chinese is not arbitrary. In other words, the selection of a classifier is not random but according to the semantic properties of the classifier and its head noun. By studying the collocation between zak2 and the referents of the nouns that it takes and can take, we try to elaborate the perceptual features underlying zak2, and further uncover which concepts zak2 may convey.
The current chapter is organized as follows. Section 4.2 presents a study on the collocation relationship between classifiers and nouns. Section 4.3 considers a previous study of zak2 in Hai-lu Hakka by Li (2004). In section 4.4, we examine the internal conceptual structure of zak2 by virtue of prototype theory, and also account for the superficially disparate nature of the members within each category. And section 4.5 concludes the chapter.
4.2 Collocation between Classifiers and Nouns
One way to study the meaning of a word is through its collocation. The collocation, one kind of meaning relations, refers to a structural or syntagmatic relation that a word contracts with other words occurring in the same text. In other words, it is concerned with meaning arising from co-occurrence (Jackson, Howard and Ze Amvela Etienne 2000). According to Tai and Wang’s (1990) study, the classifier tiao (條) in Mnadarin, for example, is typically collocated with nouns having long shape as in yi tiao yu (一條魚) ‘a fish’, yi tiao kuzi (一條褲子) ‘a pair of pants’, yi tiao tuei (一條腿) ‘a leg.’Thus, the co-occurrence of tiao (條) and its collocated nouns will have a degree of predictability, and they each contribute to the meaning of the other. Therefore, collocation has also been called a relation of mutual expectancy or habitual association (Shao 1993).
Shao (1993) has proposed that the collocation between classifiers and nouns are decided mutually. Based on the number of semantic fields which a classifier can collocate with, the classification function of a classifier can be categorized into three types:
(a) Specific Type. They are used for particular types of referents categorized into one specific semantic field. Thus, the semantic meanings of them are unique, simple, and more concrete.
yi zhan deng 一盏燈 ‘a lamp’
yi feng xien 一封信 ‘an envelope’ yi liang che 一輛車 ‘a car’
(b) Bi-model Type. They are used for referents categorized into more than one semantic field.
yi suo pieng fang/da xue 一所平房/大學 ‘a house/university’
yi jia ren/ien hang 一家人/銀行 ‘a family/bank’
(c) General Type. They are so-called general classifiers. Their collocation rules are less restricted, and the extent to which they become grammaticalized is greater than other two types. Thus, their semantic meanings are less unique and less simple.
yi ge ren 一個人 ‘a person’
yi zhi gou 一隻狗 ‘a dog’
Because of the large capacity to collocate with nouns from various semantic fields, the general classifiers receive much more attention from linguists. For example, many previous studies have considered ge in Manndarin as a general classifier (Chao 1968, Li and Thompson 1981: 112). However, Loke (1994) maintains that the collocation between ge and nouns is not unrestricted. On the other hand, ge (個) has its own well-defined semantic features which qualify it to be an animate-human classifier, an abstract classifier, and a shape classifier, as shown in figure 4.1 below.
Figure 4.1
Figure 4.1 The inter-relationship of the semantic feature of ge Ge
+human -human
+abstract -abstract
+hollow -hollow
+2D +3D
Ren xiwang quan tong xiqua
‘person’ ‘hope’ ‘ring’ ‘bucket’ ‘watermelon’
By studying the semantic relationships between ge (個) and the referents of the nouns that it takes, Loke (1994) argues that ge (個) in Mandarin can replace certain classifiers without causing any change of referential meaning of the classifier construction or the noun classified, but it does not appear to be able to classify all entities. There are some function classifiers and specific shape classifiers that ge does not normally replace, including (a) Function classifiers as in yi ben/*ge shu 一本/*
個書 ‘a book,’yi duo/*ge hua 一朵/*個花 ‘a flower,’yi ju/*ge hua 一句/*個話
‘an utterance,’(b) Long objects that are usually classified by tiao (條), gen (根), ba (把), for example, yi tiao/*ge yu 一條/*個魚 ‘a fish,’(c) Flat objects that are usually classified by zhang (張), pian (片), mian (面), as in yi zhang/*ge zhi 一張/*個紙 ‘a sheet of paper,’(d) Minutely small and round, and grain-like objects that are usually classified by li (粒) or ke (顆), as in yi li/*ge mi 一粒/*個米 ‘a grain of rice.’
4.3 Zak2 (隻) in Hai-lu Hakka (Li 2004)
Speaking plainly, a general classifier is one that can replace other specific classifiers without causing any change of meaning of the noun classified (Loke 1994).
Li (2004) makes a generalization about general classifiers based on the characteristics sharing by ge (個) in Mandarin. First, it is used the most frequently. Second, it can classify most objects. Third, it can replace some specific classifiers which have more restrictions in their collocations. Forth, it classifies new things and abstract ideas.
Lastly, it is acquired by children as the first classifier. In his own view, Li (2004) argues that the general classifiers may appear for two reasons: ease of perception and ease of comprehension.
Similar to ge (個) in Mandarin, zak2 (隻) in Hai-lu Hakka is considered as a general classifier according to Li’s (2004) analysis. He proposed two reasons for that.
First, zak2 has the widest distribution. Second, zak2 can classify abstract and
unidentified categories. He found that zak2 has the widest distribution since this special classifier may classify many things including physical objects (natural, artificial), interpersonal entities (human, animals), and abstract things. In addition to the concrete things, zak2 in Hai-lu Hakka can also classify entities which can not be physically defined such as suggestion, thinking, hope and reason, etc (Li 2004: 62-63).
Comparing three different Chinese dialects, he presents a figure to show what categories zak2 in Hai-lu Hakka can classify as shown in Table 4.1.
Table 4.1 Categories 隻 can classify in three major dialects (Li 2004:64) Category Animal Body
parts
Concept 1 vs. 2 1 vs. set
Objects Transportation Human or Spiritual things
Abstract objects
Mandarin ● ● ●
Taiwan Min
● ● ● ● ●
Hai-lu Hakka
● ● ● ● ● ● ●
However, we propose another story in the present study. Although Li (2004) makes a list of semantic categories of nouns that zak2 can collocate with, he does not mention whether each category has an equal status. For example, zak2 is used for counting animals originally. We may wonder whether the usage for counting human beings is an independent category or an extensional one based on the prototype theory.
Therefore, this chapter investigates the conceptual structure of zak2 in greater detail, presenting the prototype of each semantic category of zak2 and their extensional
usage.
4.4 The Semantic Dimensions of Zak2
Zak2 in Hakka may co-coour with nouns from various semantic fields which can be roughly categorized into four groups as listed in Table 4.2 below. By the collocation between zak2 and nouns, we are going to specify distinct semantic categories underlying the conceptual structure of zak2, and to elaborate the application of zak2 to objects with apparently different objective properties. Section 4.4.1 will discuss category I with the features of [+animate, -in water]. Section 4.4.2 focuses on the category II: shape. Section 4.4.3 discusses about the category for the entities belong to one of a symmetrical pair. And section 4.4.4 is the category for abstract nouns. In section 4.4.5, we will summarize the analysis result of the classifier zak2. Within certain semantic categories, we will depend on the prototype theory to identify the central use of zak2, and account for the heterogeneous nature of the members.
Table 4.2 Semantic fields of zak2 Category Nouns
I gie24 e31雞仔 ‘chicken’, ap20 e31鴨仔 ‘duck’, ngo11鵝 ‘goose’, diau24 e31 鳥 仔 ‘bird, ngiu11 牛 ‘cow,’ zu24 豬 ‘pig,’ yong11ma11 羊嬤 ‘ewe,’gieu31狗 ‘dog,’meu5 gung24 貓公 ‘cat,’ yong55 yap5 e31 蝴 蝶 ‘butterfly,’ ng31 gung24 cung11 蜈 蚣 虫
‘centipede,’ha11ma11蛤蟆 ‘toad,’gui24 龜 ‘tortoise,’fu11 li11狐狸
‘fox’ , sii24 e31 獅仔 ‘lion,’ ngin11 人 ‘person’, fu55 ng31 婦女
‘woman’,ngin11hak2人客 ‘customer’o11 nga55e31掗伢仔 ‘baby’, sin24 ngiong11新娘 ‘bride’,ma11鬼嬤(女鬼)‘ghost’,sien24 ngin11
仙人 ‘immortal,’fi24hang11gi24 飛行機 ‘airplane’
II kiu11 球‘ ball,’ gie24 lon31雞蛋 ‘egg,’ yiu55 e31柚仔 ‘pomelo.’ mien55 pun11 面盆 ‘basin,’ tung31桶 ‘bucket,’ siong24 e31箱子
‘box,’von31碗 ‘bowl,’bi24 e31杯子 ‘cup,’toi55 e31袋仔 ‘bag,’ pii24 ton11 陂塘 (池塘)‘pond,’fut2 e31窟仔 ‘cave,’zo55 kung24 灶孔 ‘stove,’son55 e31船仔 ‘ship,’vuk2 sa55屋舍 ‘house’
III ba24 zong31 巴掌 ‘palm,’ muk2 zu24 眼睛 ‘eye’, giok2腳 ‘leg,’ ngi2 gung24 耳空 ‘ear’,hai11 e31鞋子‘shoe,’su31手 ‘hand,’cii55 bong31 翅膀 ‘wing,’kuai55 e31筷子 ‘chopstick,’su31 lap2 e31手 套 ‘glove’
IV sii55 字 ‘words’, guet11 ga24 國家 ‘country’, dung24 si24東西
‘things’,ngiet55 月 ‘months’,mung11夢 ‘dream’,mun11 ti11問題
‘problems’, tiau11 kien11 條 件 ‘conditions,’ ga31 ki11 假 期
‘vacation,’ gien55 ngi24 建議 ‘suggestion,’ siong31 fap24 想法
‘thinking,’ hi24 mong55 希望 ‘hope,’ gu55 sii55 故事 ‘story,’ giet20 go31 結果 ‘result,’hok5 vi24 學位 ‘diploma,’tau55 li24 道 理 ‘reason.’
4.4.1 Category I-- [+animate, -in water]
In category I, zak2 is used to refer to avian such as gie24 e31 雞仔 ‘chicken’, ap20 e31 鴨仔 ‘duck’,ngo11 鵝 ‘goose’,diau24 e31 鳥仔 ‘bird’.Itisalso used to enumerate other kinds of animals on land, including domestic animals such as ngiu11 牛‘cow,’zu24 豬 ‘pig,’yong11ma11 羊嬤 ‘ewe,’gieu31 狗 ‘dog,’meu5 gung24 貓 公 ‘cat’;insectslike yong55 yap5 e31 蝴蝶 ‘butterfly,’ng31 gung24 cung11 蜈蚣虫
‘centipede’;reptileslikeha11 ma11 蛤蟆 ‘toad,’gui24 龜 ‘tortoise,’and wild animal
like fu11 li11 狐狸 ‘fox’ , sii24 e31 獅子 ‘lion.’ Referents above are all animate, which correspond to the first category proposed by Tai (1994) , thus, we can treat zak2 as an animacy-based classifier for living things particularly on land or can fly.
Based on the semantic property of animacy, zak2 is also used to refer to human beings, regardless of their sex, age, and occupations, for instance: ngin11人 ‘person’, fu55ng31婦女 ‘woman,’ngin11hak2人客 ‘customer’,o11nga55e31掗伢仔 ‘baby’, sin24 ngiong11新娘 ‘bride’;aswellasdeitiesorsupernaturalbeings,such asgui31 ma11鬼嬤(女鬼)‘ghost’,sien24 ngin11仙人 ‘immortal,’which maybe due to the reason that they are also considered as human beings in Hakka culture. Thus, deities or supernatural beings can be classified by zak2, too. One thing we should note is that when people use the classifier zak2 to refer to a human being instead of using sa11 (儕) or vi55 (位), the human being in question is usually the third party in a conversation.
Zak2 is also used as a classifier for the transportation--airplane, as in yit zak2 fi24 hang11 gi24 一隻飛行機 ‘an airplane.’An airplane possesses a visible bird-like appearance, that is, the winged and flying feature. The entity in this example is a metaphorically extended member in category one. Though it is not a living thing, but having the salient property of animacy, that is, it is a concrete device that produces motions and something that can be made to move by mechanical force. We can find a similar usage in Taiwan Min (Chen 2000)
It is noteworthy that animals in water such as fish and shrimps in Hakka take mi24 (尾) as their classifier (Tai and Wu 2006 ), in which the tail is chosen as the salient property of such animals for the classification. Although snakes and worms are animals on land, they are also classified by mi24 (尾), not by zak2. It may be due to the reason that animals such as snakes and worms are lack of legs; thus, their tails become the perceived salient characteristic for choosing mi24 (尾) as their classifier.
We may conclude here that the concept of animacy serves as the salient property for the use of zak2 in category one which has the following features:
[+animate, -in water]. Referents with animate property, including nonhuman and human, serve as the members here.
4.4.2 Category II--Shape
The original meaning of zak2 is ‘a bird’(Lu 1988) which is close to three-dimensionality in shape. Three-dimensionality is roundness (Allan 1977:300).
Thus, we can see in category II, zak2 collocates with entities in a round shape as in yit2 zak2 kiu11 一隻球 ‘aball,’yit2 zak2 gie24 lon31 一隻雞蛋 ‘an egg,’yit2 zak2 yiu55 e31 一隻柚仔 ‘apomelo.’They aregenerally ofhandheld size.
Containers that can be held in hands are also classified by zak2. Thus, zak2 is a shape classifier for containers, which are rigid hollow objects with a round opening, and can be made of wooden, plastic, porcelain, or paper, for examples, mien55 pun11 面盆 ‘basin,’ tung31 桶 ‘bucket,’von31 碗 ‘bowl,’ bi24 e31 杯子‘cup.’ All three-dimensional entities mentioned above have a round shape opening in common.
Thus, we can treat the round shape as the criteria in choosing zak2 as the classifier in category II. As for the entities in round shape, they can be served as the central members in this category.
There are three instances in our investigation in which zak2 can be naturally extended to refer to things with the round shape of hole, for examples, pi53 ton55 陂 塘 (池塘)‘pond,’fut2 e31 窟仔 ‘cave,’zo55 kung24 灶孔 ‘stove.’Zak2 is also used as a classifier for a ship, a boat, or even a building as in yit2 zak2 son55 e31 船仔
‘ship,一隻船 ‘a ship,’yit2 zak2 vuk2 sa55一隻屋舍 ‘a house.’The use of zak2 here can also be viewed as an extensional use which is based on the imagined container-like function. This extension is clearly associated with the fact that entities
like a boat or a building function like a container since a boat or a building can load people. The same principle can be used to illustrate the instance yit2 zak2 toi55 e31 一隻袋仔 ‘abag.’Though abag isaflexibleentity,notlikethe centralmembers which are rigid, it can take zak2 as its classifier based on the function of loading, too.
Thus, the extensional usage makes no distinction on shape, size, or consistency. It is the function of loading that decides zak2 as the classifier.
How far the notion of three-dimensionality extends to less salient round objects appears to be an issue here. At first, it is the semantic property of round shape that defines the central members in category II; later, the property of function does. We may make a summary here that originally zak2 is collocated with entities typically with a round shape; then it is extended to refer to containers with a round opening;
next is for any containers regardless of the shape, and finally is for entities serving as a container.
Figure 4.2 Properties of the nouns collocated with zak2 in the shape category
4.4.3 Category III--One of a Symmetrical Pair
According to Yao and Luo’s (1998) study on the colloquial Hakka and Mandarin in Chinese equivalents, zhi 隻 in Mandarin corresponds to zak2 in Hakka.
Thus, in this study we speculate that these two classifiers have the same origins.
entities with a container with a any kind of entities serving round shape round opening container as a container
X ---X---X---X---
Shape Function
The word zhi (隻) ‘a bird’can bedecomposed from thewordshuang (雙) ‘pair,’ showing two birds (Myers 2000: 195). In Mandarin, entities that inherently comes in pair take shuang (雙) ‘pair’astheirclassifier,whileoneof a symmetrical pair takes zhi. We disclose a similar phenomenon in zak2 in Hakka. That is, entities in a pair are classified by sung24 (雙) as in yit2 sun24 hai11 一雙鞋 ‘apairofshoes,’yit2 sun24 muk2 zu24 一雙眼睛 ‘apairofeyes,’ yit2 sun24 su31 一雙手 ’apairofhands,’yit2 sun24 kuai55 e31 筷子 ‘apairofchopstick,’etc.Asfornounswhich belong to one of a symmetrical pair, Hakka people also tend to use zak2 to classify them such as ba24 zong31 巴掌 ‘palm,’muk2 zu24 眼睛 eye’,giok2 腳 ‘leg,’ngi2 gung24 耳空 ‘ear’, hai11 e31 鞋子‘shoe,’su31 手 ‘hand,’cii55 bong31 翅膀 ‘wing,’kuai55 e31 筷子
‘chopstick,’ su31 lap2 e31 手套 ‘glove.’ In this category, we can treat zak2 as a classifier typically used to refer to anything that is one of a symmetrical pair.
4.4.4 Category IV--Abstract
In category IV, we find that zak2 is used to classify referents which can not be physically defined, for instances: sii55 字 ‘words’, guet11 ga24 國家 ‘country’, dung24 si24 東西 ‘things’,ngiet55 月 ‘months’,mung11 夢 ‘dream’,mun11 ti11 問 題 ‘problems’, tiau11 kien11 條件‘conditions,’ ga31 ki11 假期 ‘vacation,’ gien55 ngi24 建 議 ‘suggestion,’ siong31 fap24 想 法 ‘thinking,’hi24 mong55 希 望
‘hope,’ gu55 sii55 故 事 ‘story,’ giet2 go31 結 果 ‘result,’ hok5 vi24 學 位
‘diploma,’tau55 li24 道理 ‘reason.’Entitiesin thisgroup areabstractand are lack of any shared semantic features like animacy or shape in common. Thus, in the present study, we categorize them into the category named abstract.
4.4.5 Summary
The classifiers zak2 has an interesting conceptual structure. This chapter utilizes
the prototype model, so as to render it applicable to a wider range of linguistic data of the classifier zak2. The examples listed above clearly show that zak2 classifies entities falling into more than one semantic dimension, revealing more than one concept.
We conclude that animacy serves as the criterion in category I in which zak2 is the classifier for most animals living on land including human beings. In category II, zak2 occurs with entities which have a feature of round shape such as kiu11 (球)‘ball,’or gie24 lon31 (雞蛋) ‘egg.’In extensional use, though items such as boats, ships, or houses apparently do not have round shape, they have the same function as those that enter into category II, that is, the function of loading. Entities in category III all belong to the category--one of a symmetrical pair. As for abstract nouns which are unable to be physically defined, they are categorized into category IV named as abstract.
Adams (1986) has stated that as the number of items counted by a classifier increases, the number of semantic connections between a classifier and the items grow fewer. In the words of Lakoff (1987), one may say that the image of the classifiers or of the central items in the class provide fewer multiple features as the number of items increase. In this chapter, we have compared the classes represented by the classifier zak2, it is of four basic types, which have rather disparate nature with each other.
Further, most people argue that when a class changes and develops, the organizing principles become fewer. This is true in the sense that there are probably fewer characteristics that all items in a class can be shown to share, just like the case of zak2 here.
4.5 Conclusion
In this chapter, we have conducted a semantic study of the classifier zak2 in detail by studying its collocation with nouns. The analysis shows that the classifiers
zak2 exhibits various kinds of semantic categories. Based on prototype theory, it has a rich set of extended senses in each distinct semantic dimension. In section 4.4, we show that zak2 is a classifier having more than one semantically classificatory domain like ge in Mandarin, which results in its capacity to collocate with a variety of noun phrases from different semantic fields. The semantic categories are distinguished into four groups. The first category is the animate category with the features [+animate, -in water], including human and nonhuman. The second category is a shape category with the feature [+round, 3 dimensionality]. The third is the category of entities belonging to one of a symmetrical pair. And the last category named abstract contains abstract nouns. Thus, it is not surprising that zak2 can classify a very large number of nouns, which makes its frequency of occurrence very high without surprises. Moreover, the present study demonstrates that the classifier zak2 in Hakka is not an arbitrary linguistic device of categorization but represents some type of human categorization based on distinct salient perceptual property of entities in question.
In light of the prototype theory, we account for the disparate nature of the members in certain semantic categories of zak2 here. For instances, fi24 hang11 gi24 飛行機 ‘airplane’and son55 e31 船仔 ‘ship,’areextended membersin theanimate and the shape category respectively. We can see in this case that the similar appearance of the entities in question or the function which resemble the central members decides the use of zak2 to each referent.
In the development of the classifier system, it is both the meaning of the classifier and the entities in that class which contribute to the semantic dimensions organizing a classifier category (Adams 1986: 253). In the first category, the meaning of zak2 and the objects counted by it are the same, namely, a bird. Other items counted by zak2 such as domestic animals or reptiles share some features with birds;
for example, animacy. We should note it is also possible for the objects in a class to
introduce new referents that are not provided by the meaning of the classifier. Such features can be used to further classify other objects. This is the case with zak2 in the first category, in which zak2 has been used to count human beings, hence the feature of human-like was extended to count deities or supernatural beings. As Lakoff (1986) notes, these types of senses are motivated by the ones they are immediately linked to and not by the central one. He describessuch caseas“distantsense”(Lakoff 1986:
107)
