Full text loading...
-
Nominal classification
Does it play a role in referent disambiguation?
- Source: Studies in Language. International Journal sponsored by the Foundation “Foundations of Language”, Volume 44, Issue 1, May 2020, p. 191 - 230
-
- 06 May 2020
Abstract
Abstract
It is often claimed that reference tracking is a key function of nominal classification systems, not least because of the role such systems can play in referent disambiguation. This paper reports on the results of a comparative study of reference in texts from four languages, focusing specifically on the disambiguating function of nominal classification. The results strongly suggest that disambiguation is not a primary function of nominal classification systems. While gender and/or classifiers sometimes contribute to the avoidance of referential conflict, the reality is that the conditions have to be just right – all competing references must be of opposing genders, and those genders must be formally distinct – and this happens with surprisingly low frequency. We are better off viewing disambiguation as a convenient by-product of nominal classification systems that a language can exploit when conditions allow.