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Article published In: Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area
Vol. 48:2 (2025) ► pp.296–324

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Classifiers in Tawrã Mishmi

 | University of Sydney
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Sydney.

Published online: 13 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ltba.25002.hot
Abstract
Numeral classifiers in Tawrã stand out from other Tibeto-Burman languages in Northeast India for having several members, many of which do not have a nominal counterpart. Tawrã also shares the typologically uncommon order [n clf num] with neighboring Tani and Boro-Garo languages. This article has three purposes: (i) it describes the classifier system of Tawrã, an under-described language from Arunachal Pradesh, (ii) it discusses the referential effect of classification, which commonly signals individuation and (iii) it discusses the participation of classifiers in nominal compounding, a typologically uncommon construction. Although the connection between classifiers and individuation has already been established in the literature, this investigation explores examples from a naturalistic corpus, elicitation and translation.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Language background
  • 2.Classifiers in Tawrã
    • 2.1Definition of classifier
    • 2.2Position of the classifier phrase within the NP
    • 2.3Origin of classifiers
  • 3.Classification
    • 3.1Classification of human referents
    • 3.2Generic classifier bra
  • 4.Pragmatic and semantic uses of classifiers
    • 4.1Reference tracking
    • 4.2Referentiality and individuation
  • 5.Classifiers in nominal compounds
  • 6.Conclusion and implications
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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