Between Lexical and Lexico-grammatical Classification: Nominal Classification in Sinhala

1. INTRODUCTION. This paper investigates a small set of specific-general noun sequences (SGNs) and their role as a system of nominal classification in Sinhala. Systems of nominal classification have typically been described in terms of three sub-types: 1) lexical systems (class terms and measure terms), 2) lexico-grammatical systems (classifiers), and 3) grammatical systems (noun class markers and gender) (Grinevald and Seifart 2004:261). These three subtypes can be seen as occupying positions on a typological continuum as well as reflecting a diachronic pattern of language change from class terms or measure terms to noun class markers of agreement or gender as illustrated by Figure 1, below.