Classifiers and the count/mass distinction

Much research has been devoted to characterizing the count/mass distinction. The

distinction has been claimed to be dichotomous since it is reflected in the grammar in the

manner of the singular/plural distinction; accordingly, previous analyses have treated

‘count’ and ‘mass’ in a binary, ‘either or’ fashion (e.g. Chomsky 1965). In addition, there

is a popular claim that all nouns are mass in classifier languages (e.g. Sharvy 1978, Gil

1987). In this article, I show that these are misconceptions and propose a more adequate

analysis of the count/mass distinction.