In:New Insights into Theoretical Syntax from Asian Languages: Studies in honor of C.-T. James Huang
Edited by Andrew Simpson
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 290] 2026
► pp. 436–458
Putting three pieces of a puzzle into place
Classifiers–plurals–articles in Vietnamese
Published online: 15 January 2026
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.290.17pha
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.290.17pha
Abstract
Vietnamese exhibits characteristics that challenge the typological distinction between
Sino-Tibetan classifier languages and Indo-European number-marking languages. Notably, (i.a) many nouns combine
directly with numerals without classifiers, (i.b) it has developed two productive plural markers,
những and các, and (i.c) the numeral một ‘one’ behaves
distinctly from other numerals. We propose that these properties can be explained through a type-driven parametric
approach distinguishing kind-oriented from property-oriented nominal systems. Empirical analysis shows that (ii.a)
nouns without classifiers still share key behaviors with classifier-requiring nouns, implying an underlying null
classifier. (ii.b) Plural markers and articles appear above the classifier projection, supporting a type-theoretic
approach where classifiers map kinds into atomic properties. (ii.c) The numeral một has evolved into
an indefinite article, aligning with a type-driven semantic composition process in a kind-oriented language.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.The two type-driven approaches to classifier languages
- 2.1The nominal mapping parameter hypothesis
- 2.2The Uniform Nominal Denotation hypothesis
- 3.Classifier-less nouns and plural markers in Vietnamese
- 4.Article candidates in Vietnamese
- 5.Bringing everything together: A type-theoretic analysis of Vietnamese classifiers — plurals — articles
- 6.Conclusion
Notes References
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