Social issues in Thai classifier usage

Abstract

Previous studies of Thai classifiers have tended to treat them as a “natural” linguistic subsystem with a high degree of modular uniformity and cohesion. Classifier syntax has thus been stated through context-free generalizations and lexical semantics have been described through a uniform taxonomy, e.g. through binary-feature componential analysis, etc. Classifiers have been considered a well-formed syntactic class distinct from nouns. This paper suggests that these approaches are at best academic approximations and they disregard or minimize important facts of sociolinguistic usage. Classifiers as used in modern Standard Thai are partly the result of formal training. In particular, some aspects of classifier semantics and syntax were created in the context of ra:cha:sàp (Thai “royal vocabulary”) or an associated style called “polite language”. These forms and constructions may still be stylistically marked, and can be distinguished, in a loose way at least, from others which form a more basic (or perhaps “natural”) core system. This paper suggests that the core system can be studied through a combination of sociolinguistic analysis and historical-comparative and acquisitional research.