Numeral classifiers in Mandarin Chinese: lexical or functional?

Abstract

Despite having been a classic research topic for over 300 years (Gao and Liu 2020: 136), the fundamental issue of whether numeral classifiers (Cls for short) in Mandarin Chinese belong to a lexical or functional category still remains controversial. To address this issue, this paper presents arguments from diachronic, syntactic, semantic, cognitive, and experimental perspectives. On one hand, Mandarin Chinese Cls exhibit lexical properties, as evidenced by their semantic selection restrictions in relation to nouns. On the other hand, they also display functional properties, supported by arguments such as their grammaticalization, their substitution by the general Cl ge, and their syntactic analogy with auxiliary verbs. Furthermore, Mandarin Chinese Cls are predominantly functional, as demonstrated by three supporting arguments from diachronic, cognitive, and experimental perspectives. Additionally, this paper also addresses the question of whether Individual Cls, compared to other types of Cls, offer a very limited semantic space for the whole nominal phrase.