孟拉語言的複數分類詞

Bangla Plural Classifiers

本文分析孟拉語的複數語法。如同其他分類詞語言一樣，孟拉語並沒有在名詞上標示單數和複數的區分。然而，如同其他分類詞語言一樣，孟拉語擁有表達複數的語詞：-gulo 與 -ra。前者可以與有生和無生名詞連用，但後者則只與有生名詞搭配；前者指涉超過一個物體，但後者則只暗示而非表示複數；前者不指涉類別，但後者卻可以。本文採用形式語意學理論，將 -gulo 與 -ra 分析為分類詞，將它們納入包含基本分類詞 -TA 的分類系統。

This paper investigates the expression of plurality in Bangla. Like other languages that use classifiers in cardinal constructions, Bangla does not mark the singular–plural distinction on the noun. However, like other classifier languages, Bangla has expressions that convey reference to pluralities: -gulo and -ra. The first can combine with nouns that denote animate as well as inanimate entities, while the other only combines with animate nouns. The first entails reference to more than one entity, while the other seems to merely implicate plural reference. The first is incompatible with kind reference but the other is, for the most part, the preferred form for reference to kinds. A formal account of their semantics is provided, analyzing them both as classifiers and relating them to an analysis of the basic classifier -TA used in cardinal constructions.