Page:Cornyn Outline of Burmese Grammar.pdf/30

Rh ten, tashé, occurs both with and without a classifier, but when it is used with a classifier it lacks the prefixed ta‑:

lú shéyauɁ ‘10 people’; lú tashé ‘10 people’; myîn lêizé ‘40 horses’; máin tayá ‘100 miles’; Ɂéin tatháun ŋâyá ‘1500 houses’.

Common classifiers of type 1 are the following:

chaɁ ‘flat things’: kózô hnachaɁ ‘2 carpets’; sekkú θôunjaɁ ‘3 sheets of paper’.

châun ‘long and slender things’: khêdán tachâun ‘1 pencil’; zûn chauccâun ‘half a dozen spoons’.

káun ‘animals’: myauɁ hnakáun ‘2 monkeys’; myîn θôuŋgáun ‘3 horses’.

khù ‘units’; often substitute for another classifier (148): myephmán takhù ‘1 pair of spectacles’; zagabóun takhù ‘1 story, fable’.

khûn ‘words, utterances’; zagâ takhûn ‘1 word, sentence, utterance’.

kwîn ‘circles, hoops’: lessuɁ hnakwîn ‘2 finger rings’; lekkauɁ θôungwîn ‘3 bracelets’.

leɁ ‘tools and weapons’: dâ taleɁ ‘1 knife’; θanaɁ taleɁ ‘1 gun’.

lôun ‘spherical or cubical things’: tittá talôun ‘1 box’; Ɂôu talôun ‘1 pot’.

pâ ‘sacred or immaterial things’: phôunjî hnapâ ‘2 priests’; ɁayeiɁ θôumbâ ‘3 intimations, warnings’.

pheɁ ‘one of a pair’: myessí tapheɁ ‘1 eye’; leɁ hnapheɁ ‘2 hands (of different individuals)’.

pín ‘trees, hairs, threads’: Ɂamwêi tapín ‘1 hair of the body’; kóukóu hnapín ‘2 cocoa trees’.

sáun ‘writings’: lephmaɁ θôunzáun ‘3 tickets’; ságalêi hnasáun ‘2 notes’.

sháun ‘buildings’: câun tasháun ‘1 monastery’; Ɂéin tasháun ‘1 house’.

shú ‘pagodas, images of the Buddha’: phayâ hnashú ‘2 pagodas’.

sî ‘things ridden’: shín hnasî ‘2 riding elephants’; hlê hnasî ‘2 carts’.

sîn ‘ships, automobiles, cutting and piercing instruments’; θîmbô tazîn ‘1 ship’; mótókâ hnasîn ‘2 automobiles’; hmyâ chaussîn ‘6 arrows’.

sóun ‘pairs, complete assortments’: leɁ ɁeiɁ tazóun ‘1 pair of gloves’; ɁawuɁ hnasóun ‘2 suits of clothes’.

šîn ‘yokes of animals’: nwâ tašîn ‘1 yoke of bullocks’; cwê tašîn '1 yoke of buffalo’.

thê ‘articles of clothing’: chwêigán Ɂeinjí chautthé ‘6 undershirts’; bâumbí tathé ‘1 pair of pants’.

yán ‘pairs’: lekkauɁ tayán ‘1 pair of bracelets’; nadâun tayán ‘1 pair of earrings’.

yauɁ ‘human beings’: lú tayauɁ ‘1 person’; thamînjeɁ tayauɁ ‘1 cook’.

Some nouns appear both in ordinary noun use and as classifiers of type 1. They denote units of measure and the like:

shán tabeiθθá ‘1 viss of rice’; ɁayeɁ tabalîn ‘l bottle of whiskey’; lé bèhnaɁéikà ‘how many acres of paddy field’; zagâ hnamyôu ‘2 kinds of language’; billayeɁ tabwê ‘1 game of billiards’.

As indicated in the preceding paragraphs, type 1 classifiers determine classes of nouns with which the several classifiers are used. However, the selection of a classifier is not rigidly restricted.

In many expressions khù ‘unit’ occurs with nouns which are also counted by means of another classifier of type 1 or 2: