NounType: noun type
| Values: | Clf | Nmlz |
Thai, an isolating language, does not use inflectional suffixes; instead, it relies on syntactic distribution and word co-occurrence to indicate grammatical information and functions. In addition, it is a head-initial language that uses postmodification, so noun modifiers are typically placed after the head noun.
This feature applies to Thai nouns, several of which can serve as classifiers in specific constructions, and two of which can serve to nominalize verb clauses as well as other clause types.
Clf: classifier
Classifiers are derived from a variety of common nouns; therefore, they are functionally nouns, sharing the same distribution and behaving almost exactly like them. They are thus tagged NOUN. They are typically used to convey grammatical number as well as the inherent characteristics of the head noun. When they are not accompanied by numerals or quantifiers, they themselves imply a singular meaning (i.e., ‘one’ or ‘a’). Their construction follows two primary patterns:
- Head Noun + Numeral / Quantifier + Classifier
- Head Noun + Classifier + Modifier
The modifier placed after the classifier can be of any type, except a quantifier. Some nouns require a specific classifier, while others serve as their own classifier. These distributional patterns and specific lexical requirements allow us to distinguish a classifier noun from a common noun.
Examples
- แมวสามตัว / mɛːw sǎːm tua “three cats”
- แมวหลายตัว / mɛːw lǎːj tua “several cats”
- คนสามคน / khon sǎːm khon “three people”
- จานใบสีขาว / caːn baj sǐː khǎːw “a white plate”
- แมวตัวใหญ่ / mɛːw tua jàj “a big cat”
- คนคนนี้ / khon khon níː “this person”
Nmlz: nominalization
Two Thai nouns—การ kaːn (meaning ‘work’ or ‘a thing to be done’) and ความ khwaːm (meaning ‘conditions’ or ‘abstract concepts’)—are common nouns that typically behave and function like any other noun. However, they can also serve to nominalize certain clause types, most notably verbal clauses headed by either action or stative/adjectival verbs. When nominalizing these clauses, they are tagged NOUNas well.
To nominalize a clause semantically, each of them follows a particular pattern.
- การ kaːn “work” + Action Verb
- การ kaːn “work” + Relative Clause
- ความ khwaːm “conditions” + Stative / Adjectival Verb
- ความ khwaːm “conditions” + Relative Clause
Examples
- การขายบ้านทำให้เขามีเงิน / kaːn khǎːj bâːn tham-hâj khǎw miː ŋɤn “Selling (his) house brought him some money.”
- เขามีความมั่นใจในการทำงาน / khǎw miː khwaːm mân-caj naj kaːn tham-ŋaːn “He is confident in his work.”
- การที่เราวิ่งอย่างสม่ำเสมอทำให้ร่างกายแข็งแรง / kaːn thîː raw wîŋ jàːŋ sà-màm-sà-mɤ̌ː tham-hâj râːŋ-kaːj khɛ̌ːŋ-rɛːŋ “Running regularly keeps us healthy and strong.”
NounType in other languages: [azz] [ga] [gd] [koi] [kpv] [mdf] [myv] [nci] [nhi] [quc] [sq] [u]