In this thesis, I discuss the range of numerals in South American languages, the strategies that languages use to form their numerals, and what cultural and historical causes can be given to the...Show moreIn this thesis, I discuss the range of numerals in South American languages, the strategies that languages use to form their numerals, and what cultural and historical causes can be given to the range of the numerals. The Quechuan languages consistently possess an infinite decimal system. This could be the result of the preservation of the high numerals after colonization that were used to keep track of administration in the extended Inca Empire. In the Arawakan family, both the range and the internal structure of the numerals differ. Just as for the Quechuan, the Arawakan people were involved in trade and war which could indicate a need of high numerals. However, unlike for the Quechuan numerals, they have not been preserved. During colonization, Arawakan groups fled from their original settlements and adopted other groups into their communities, which indicates substratum influence and explains the diversity of the Arawakan numerals. In the Guaporé-Mamoré linguistic area, numerals are mostly concentrated around a maximum of 20. The body-part system and a connection to company or loneliness are common in the numerals in this area.Show less
Numeral classifiers are additional grammatical elements within a numeral phrase (NumP) which refer to the salient semantic properties of the counted noun (Gil 2013). Numeral classifier systems are...Show moreNumeral classifiers are additional grammatical elements within a numeral phrase (NumP) which refer to the salient semantic properties of the counted noun (Gil 2013). Numeral classifier systems are the most recognised type of classifier system in the world’s languages. Numeral classifiers are structured by semantic principles, by which certain subclasses of nouns are assigned to the same classifiers. These semantic principles bear certain similarities across the world’s languages, which are called universals. Besides a universals basis, Lyons (1977a: 248) believes that the semantics of numeral classifier are also determined partly by cultural basis. This thesis is a comparative analysis of numeral classifiers in Palikúr (an Arawakan language of Brazil and French Guiana) and Rongga (an Austronesian language). The thesis has two goals. First, I am interested to explore to what extent the semantic universals regarding numeral classifiers hold for Palikúr and Rongga. In particular for Palikúr, since South American languages were mostly left out in the search for universal patterns in numeral classifier languages. The universal semantic frameworks regarding numeral classifiers that I discuss are Allan (1977), Lyons (1977) and Croft (1994). My second goal for this thesis is to explore the semantic variability between the Palikúr and Rongga numeral classifier systems. This question is of interest because it can help illuminate what kinds of semantic differences can be found within the semantic universal parameters identified by semanticists. The semantic variability of numeral classifier systems that I discuss is based on the study of Grinevald (2015). Together, these two questions shed light onto the interplay between universality and variability in the semantics of numeral classifier systems.Show less
