Editing Chinese classifier (section)

=== Classifier words ===
Most modern count-classifiers are derived from words that originally were free-standing nouns in older varieties of Chinese, and have since been [[Grammaticalization|grammaticalized]] to become [[bound morphemes]].<ref name=Shie76Wang173>{{Harvnb|Shie|2003|p=76}}; {{Harvnb|Wang|1994|pp=113–14; 172–73}}</ref> In other words, count-classifiers tend to come from words that once had specific meaning but lost it (a process known as [[semantic bleaching]]).<ref name=Peyraube116>{{Harvnb|Peyraube|1991|p=116}}</ref> Many, however, still have related forms that work as nouns all by themselves, such as the classifier {{lang|zh|带}}&nbsp;({{lang|zh-Hant-TW|2=帶}})&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|dài}} for long, ribbon-like objects: the modern word {{lang|zh|带子}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|dàizi}} means "ribbon".<ref name=Shie76>{{Harvnb|Shie|2003|p=76}}</ref> In fact, the majority of classifiers can also be used as other parts of speech, such as nouns.<ref name=GaoMalt1130>{{Harvnb|Gao|Malt|2009|p=1130}}</ref> Mass-classifiers, on the other hand, are more transparent in meaning than count-classifiers; while the latter have some [[Etymology|historical meaning]], the former are still full-fledged nouns. For example, {{lang|zh|杯}}&nbsp;({{Transliteration|zh|bēi}}, cup), is both a classifier as in {{lang|zh|一{{uline|杯}}茶}}&nbsp;({{Transliteration|zh|yì {{uline|bēi}} chá}}, "a {{uline|cup}} of tea") and the word for a cup as in {{lang|zh|酒杯}}&nbsp;({{Transliteration|zh|jiǔbēi}}, "wine glass").<ref name=Chienetal92>{{Harvnb|Chien|Lust|Chiang|2003|p=92}}</ref>

{{Quote box | quote=Where do these classifiers come from? Each classifier has its own history. | source=— {{Harvtxt|Peyraube|1991|p=116}} | align=right | width=20% | bgcolor=#FFFFE0  | salign=right}}
It was not always the case that every noun required a count-classifier. In many historical varieties of Chinese, use of classifiers was not mandatory, and classifiers are rare in writings that have survived.<ref name=Erbaugh401Peyraube>{{Harvnb|Peyraube|1991}}; {{Harvnb|Erbaugh|1986|p=401}}</ref> Some nouns acquired classifiers earlier than others; some of the first documented uses of classifiers were for inventorying items, both in mercantile business and in storytelling.<ref name=Erbaugh401>{{Harvnb|Erbaugh|1986|p=401}}</ref> Thus, the first nouns to have count-classifiers paired with them may have been nouns that represent "culturally valued" items such as horses, scrolls, and intellectuals.<ref name=Erbaugh401428>{{Harvnb|Erbaugh|1986|pp=401, 403, 428}}</ref> The special status of such items is still apparent today: many of the classifiers that can only be paired with one or two nouns, such as {{lang|zh|匹}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|pǐ}} for horses<ref group=note>Today, {{lang|zh|匹}} may also be used for [[bolt (fabric)|bolts]] of cloth. See "[http://chinesenotes.com/ref_measure_words.htm List of Common Nominal Measure Words]" on ChineseNotes.com (last modified 11 January 2009; retrieved on 3 September 2009).</ref> and {{lang|zh|首}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|shǒu}} for songs or poems, are the classifiers for these same "valued" items. Such classifiers make up as much as one-third of the commonly used classifiers today.<ref name=Erbaugh403/>

{{anchor|other names}}Classifiers did not gain official recognition as a [[lexical category]] (part of speech) until the 20th century. The earliest modern text to discuss classifiers and their use was [[Ma Jianzhong]]'s 1898 ''[[Mashi Wentong|Ma's Basic Principles for Writing Clearly]]'' ({{lang|zh|马氏文通}}).<ref name=He2>{{Harvnb|He|2001|p=2}}</ref> From then until the 1940s, linguists such as Ma, Wang Li, and [[Li Jinxi]] treated classifiers as just a type of noun that express a quantity.<ref name=He3/> [[Lü Shuxiang]] was the first to treat them as a separate category, calling them "unit words" ({{lang|zh|单位词}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|dānwèicí}}) in his ''Outline of Chinese Grammar'' ({{lang|zh|中国文法要略}}) published during the 1940s, and finally 'measure words' ({{lang|zh|量词}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|liàngcí}}) in ''Grammar Studies'' ({{lang|zh|语法学习}}). He made this separation based on the fact that classifiers were semantically bleached, and that they can be used directly with a number, whereas true nouns need to have a measure word added before they can be used with a number.<ref name=He4>{{Harvnb|He|2001|p=4}}</ref> After this time, other names were also proposed for classifiers: Gao Mingkai called them 'noun helper words' ({{lang|zh|助名词}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|zhùmíngcí}}), Lu Wangdao 'counting markers' ({{lang|zh|计标}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|jìbiāo}}). The Japanese linguist Miyawaki Kennosuke called them 'accompanying words' ({{lang|zh|陪伴词}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|péibàncí}}).<ref name=He5-6>{{Harvnb|He|2001|pp=5–6}}</ref> In the {{ill|italic=y|Draft Plan for a System of Teaching Chinese Grammar|zh|暂拟汉语教学语法系统}} adopted by the [[People's Republic of China]] in 1954, Lü's measure words ({{lang|zh|量词}}&nbsp;{{Transliteration|zh|liàngcí}}) was adopted as the official name for classifiers in China.<ref name=He7>{{Harvnb|He|2001|p=7}}</ref> This remains the most common term in use today.<ref name=Li1116Hu7WangHe8/>