Silent semi-lexical classifiers in Romanian

Abstract

This paper addresses the question of classifiers in Romanian, i.e. a language with plural morphology. I will propose that pseudo-partitive constructions consist of a classifier-noun sequence, where the classifier is a semi-lexical or functional noun. The ClasP will be conceived of as emerging above NumP in all ‘count’ situations (see Kayne 2003). The head of the ClasP in languages with plural morphology may be filled with semi-lexical material (see van Riemsdijk 1998, 2003) – as in the case of pseudo-partitive constructions – or, building on Kayne’s (2003) proposal, with an abstract noun NUMBER.

Keywords

• pseudo-partitive construction
• classifier (phrase)
• semi-lexical noun
• Romanian