1887
Volume 5, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2665-9336
  • E-ISSN: 2665-9344
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Abstract

Abstract

Classifiers serve as tools for exploring how individuals use languages to cognitively categorize the world within social contexts. (zhī), a prevalent classifier in modern Mandarin using simplified Chinese characters, categorizes both animate and inanimate referents, with the latter lacking significant similarities in shape or function. This paper conducts a corpus-based diachronic and synchronic semantic analysis of (zhī) to reveal associations among its classified referents. It discovers that canonical referents classified by (zhī) in simplified Chinese writing stem from two semantic meanings: “bird” and “one out of a pair”, linked to the original meaning of (zhī) from which the classifier (zhī) originates. Additionally, (zhī) is creatively used in the Internet Chinese language to categorize human referents, contributing to a playful style. The study identifies how cognitive and socio-cultural factors, in addition to lexical borrowing, influence the usage of (zhī), aiding in the understanding of the comprehensive motivations behind Chinese classifier usage.

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2025-02-06
2026-04-15
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