This Keynote lecture will be given alongside Greville G. Corbett

Keynote Lecture

Unpacking nominal classification: a new perspective on gender and classifiers

Outline
Nominal classification remains a central topic in linguistic research, but advancing our understanding calls for a fundamental rethinking of how we approach its typology. The long-standing assumption that gender and classifiers represent opposing categories has often hindered efforts to construct satisfying typologies. However, empirical studies over recent decades have increasingly revealed languages that challenge this binary view—namely, those with intermediate systems that blend features traditionally attributed to either gender or classifiers, as well as those with multiple systems of nominal classification. We propose a typology based on four clearly defined criteria that together span the logical space of nominal classification systems. Each criterion is carefully elaborated and exemplified with data from a diverse set of languages. This approach is designed to capture gender and classifier systems in a single coherent typology; it allows for intermediate cases, and thus facilitates comparisons of apparently widely differing systems. This ‘intellectual housekeeping’ is intended to be of value both to linguists involved in describing challenging systems and to provide a firmer base for experimental work.