Combining Gender and Classifiers in Natural Language

In many languages, nouns are systematically categorized into groups. In a gender system, as in Italian, this is based on sex: all nouns are treated as either masculine or feminine -- even those nouns whose meaning has nothing to do with biological sex. Quite a different approach is taken by languages with a classifier system. Here categorization is based on fine-grained meaning distinctions inherent to the noun, involving shape, function, arrangement, place or time interval. Such a language is Kilivila (Trobriand Islands), which has at least 177 distinct categories. For the most part a language will have only one system or the other, but in a few interesting cases we find both systems together. How such fundamentally different systems of categorization interact within a single language is a question which has not yet been seriously considered, but it potentially uncovers a great deal about the interaction of semantics, morphology, and cognitive categories in general. The research questions we pose are:

(1) Where two categorization systems co-occur, do they interact with each other at the level of morphology (form) or syntax (sentence structure)?
(2) Which principles determine how nouns are grouped into their respective categories in such languages?
(3) How is the rest of the grammatical system affected by the presence of two categorization systems?

Driving each of these questions is a larger one: are the gender and classifier systems of mixed languages similar to those found in one-system languages, or do they have special properties of their own?

Preliminary investigations suggest that dual categorization systems are indeed more than the sum of their parts. Canonical gender systems and canonical classifier systems occur in very different types of languages: gender is characteristic of inflecting languages, while classifiers are characteristic of languages that lack complex inflectional morphology. Naturally, where the two co-occur in a single language, there is a conflict between these opposing tendencies, leading to a deviation from expectations. Thus any language with dual categorization is in some sense non-canonical. Such languages are limited in their distribution, largely in Oceania and the Americas. We will concentrate on the following language groupings: Papuan, (specifically Mian and Tidore), Witotoan (Miraña), Mayan (Akatek), Arawakan (Tariana), Tucanoan (Retuarã), and Australian (Ngan'gityemerri). The first research question requires in-depth analyses of these key languages, complemented by a broader sample based on the World Atlas of Language Structures.

The second research question addresses the nature and interaction of the categories themselves. For example, in Mian nouns are categorized simultaneously by gender (distinguishing masculine, feminine, neuter type 1 and neuter type 2) and classifiers (distinguishing such categories as bundles, long things and covering things). These two systems partly overlap, but we still lack a precise way of characterizing the relative contribution of each system and the way in which they interact. This is where the rigorous computational model that we propose can bring clarity to this complex network of factors. This method further allows us to evaluate the relative degree of success of different candidate analyses based on particular rule systems.

The third research question explores the way dual categorization is treated by the rest of the grammar, in particular in reference tracking. For example, in a language with gender alone, a pronoun referring back to a noun previously used will agree with it in gender. But in a language with dual categorization, a whole range of additional choices come into play. To uncover the multiple factors involved, we will conduct a corpus study comparing one of our target languages to three other languages representing the full typological range: one with gender only, one with classifiers only, and one with neither.

PUBLIC AWARENESS
We will use our expertise to develop maps for the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) to leverage public awareness. This publication has been reviewed in the Guardian and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, demonstrating its reach way beyond the academic audience. We will use this influential resource to add publicly accessible maps on gender, noun classifiers and verbal classifiers (see 2e in the Technical Appendix). Given the interest created among the general public by the WALS enterprise, this is likely to generate a public response.

DIGITAL MIAN/KILIVILA COLLECTION
We will work closely with Professor Gunter Senft to create an online exhibition of pictures and cultural artefacts for the Austronesian language Kilivila and the Papuan language Mian, together with associated categorization information. This will provide up-to-date information for the public both on the threatened cultures and the endangered languages of Melanesia. We will employ a startup company connected to the University of Surrey which has experience of online exhibitions with features which appeal to the broader public (details are given in 2d in the Technical Appendix).

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
For this we will extend the engagement with the public in the Western world by interacting with representatives of the Mian community. These representatives will write stories about the different cultural artefacts in the Digital Mian Collection in Mian, Tok Pisin, and English. This community engagement will naturally require some monetary remuneration (detailed in the budget), as community members will have to dedicate their time to this activity.

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT CATEGORIZATION
The ability to categorize is extremely important for sentient organisms. In solving a problem we classify and divide it into its component parts. Our senses are assaulted by so many different stimuli during every second of our lives that our minds would not be able to cope, if they were not able to classify the incoming stimuli into relevant information and distracting noise. If we want to communicate any of this input, we classify by transforming it into the classes and categories available in the language we use for communication. One important task of linguistics is to investigate the process of categorization involved in communication. As part of this project, funding has been included for Dr Sebastian Fedden to offer a short series of public lectures at the Guildford Institute and the British Academy, with the video of these lectures also to be made available as part of the Digital Mian/Kilivila Collection. The lectures will address the role of categorization and its integral part in our life as social and communicating beings.