A Comparative Study of Indonesian and Japanese Classifiers

https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/linguistika/

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/ling.2023.v30.i02.p05

LINGUISTIKA, SEPTEMBER 2023

p-ISSN: 0854-9613 e-ISSN: 2656-6419

Vol. 30 No.2

A Comparative Study of Indonesian and Japanese Classifiers

Putu Sandra Putri Astariani

(D4 Manajemen Bisnis Internasional, Politeknik Negeri Bali, Indonesia) e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract--Classifiers belong to open class noun. All languages are naturally occupied with classifiers, yet the usage is various depending on how the language treats them. Japanese language, as an obligatory-classifier language, makes the classifiers compulsory, in contrast with an optional-classifier language, Indonesian language. Despite this, Japanese and Indonesian languages treat the classifiers syntactically and semantically similar. This article aims at revealing, both the semantic and syntactic differences and similarities between Japanese and Indonesian classifiers. The analysis shows that in terms of structure, Japanese and Indonesian classifiers are similar; however, each language demonstrates difference in classifier use. Japanese language has nineteen frequently used classifiers including two types which can replace others. They can change their form by fusing with its numeral adjective as in hitori (ichi-nin), ippiki (ichi-hiki), without affecting the whole meaning of the noun phrase. Indonesian classifiers cover of twenty-two optional types. Classifiers are often omitted in spoken form to avoid formality and some of them can also change their form by adding se- prior to the numeral adjective to indicate “one object” as in sebatang rokok.

Keywords—classifiers, numerals, comparative

Abstrak--Kata bantu bilangan termasuk ke dalam kata benda bersifat terbuka. Semua bahasa pada dasarnya dilengkapi oleh kata bantu bilangan, namun penggunaannya tergantung dari cara suatu bahasa “memperlakukan” mereka. Bahasa Jepang, sebagai bahasa yang mewajibkan kehadiran kata bantu bilangan, kerap menggunakannya dalam kalimat dan ujaran. Berbeda dengan bahasa Indonesia yang tidak mewajibkan kata bantu bilangan dalam kalimat dan ujaran. Terlepas dari perbedaan karakter yang ada, bahasa Jepang dan bahasa Indonesia memperlakukan kata bantu bilangan dengan cara yang hampir sama secara sintaksis dan semantis. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap perbedaan dan persamaan sintaksis dan semantis antara kata bantu bilangan bahasa Jepang dan bahasa Indonesia. Analisis menunjukkan bahwa dalam hal struktur, kata bantu bilangan bahasa Jepang dan bahasa Indonesia mirip; meski demikian, masing-masing bahasa menunjukkan perbedaan dalam penggunaan kata bantu bilangan. Bahasa Jepang memiliki 19 kata bantu bilangan yang sering digunakan, dua diantaranya dapat saling menggantikan. Kata tersebut dapat mengubah bentuknya dengan menyatu dengan ajektiva numeral seperti pada hitori (ichi-nin), ippiki (ichi-hiki), tanpa memengaruhi makna keseluruhan frasa nomina. Terdapat 22 kata bantu bilangan dalam bahasa Indonesia, dan semuanya bersifat opsional. Dalam percakapan, kata bantu bilangan sering dihilangkan unutk menghindari keformalan, beberapa kata bantu bilangan juga mengubah bentuk dan menyatu dengan nomina dengan menambah se- sebelum ajektiva numeral untuk menyatakan “satu buah objek” seperti pada frasa sebatang rokok.

Kata Kunci—kata bantu bilangan, numeral, komparatif

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• 1.    Introduction

There has been an endless question on how to measure certain thing right, and a classifier is the answer for this. However, a new problem arises since classifiers can sometimes be baffling because not all languages are naturally “blessed” with closed class of classifiers. Japanese language is an obligatory classifier language (Sudo, 2016:1). Numerals cannot modify noun or noun phrase in Japanese resulting in diversity in classifiers. Classifiers in Japanese have several roles i.e., modifying noun or noun phrases and verbs or adjectives, as in construction:

ni hiki wo kau two Cl particle raise (Bender and Siegel, 2005)

The classifiers (hiki) and numeral adjectives (ni) modify the verb (kau). Further example is presented in the following construction, sannin           mo     ii desu,

two people (Cl) particle good

this construction has the adjective (ii) modified by the classifier phrase (futari). Based on the examples, however, it is unacceptable to say (noun) ni o kau or san mo ii desu.

As a part of South East Asian region and Austronesian language, Indonesian language comes in different nature where classifiers are an open class type and is more optional to use either in constructions, phrases, utterances, or sentences. For instance, the noun phrase tiga bebek (three ducks) has exactly the same meaning as tiga ekor bebek. Therefore, the speakers have more freedom in choosing whether or not they will use the classifiers. Nevertheless, situation sometimes hold important role is the presence of classifiers some native speakers find classifiers too formal to be used when speaking. This results in minimum insight regarding the use of classifiers and unfortunately, classifiers seem to be obsolete due to this kind of nature.

Japanese and Indonesian classifiers may present difference in use, some similarities are still found, nonetheless. The notion of semantic classifiers is sometimes confusing since many speakers still find it hard to use it in communication. Therefore, this article focuses on three problems, i.e., what are the common classifiers used in Japanese and Indonesian language and how are they used in sentences? The second problem the continues on what are the function lies within classifiers in both language? The last problem arises due to the question what are the similarities and differences of the Japanese and Indonesian classifiers?

The problems lead to comparison between both languages’ classifiers and result in findings related the nature of classifiers in phrases and constructions; how they are similar and different to one another in terms meaning, structure, and function. Furthermore, this issue becomes interesting since there are some classifiers used and having similar meaning in both Indonesian and Japanese language. By paying attention to Japanese as a rich-in-classifiers language and Indonesian as the optional one, this research tries to compare and discuss classifiers through the syntax and semantic point of view.

• 2.    Research Method

Data were collected by using documentation method along with note taking technique. The documentation method focuses on language use either spoken or written. Alanshari (2022:203) argues that this method is a way of obtaining data by paying attention to the existing event. The analysis was carried out descriptively by using a distributional method, meaning that the language is analyzed by using the determinants, in this case the cohesive devices, found within it. To support this method, the expansion technique (Teknik perluasan) is used to analyse the unit of speech and to reveal the significance of a language, in this case the classifiers and its construction. The results are presented by combining formal and informal method; descriptively presenting

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description by using words with the presence of tables. Analysis is presented based on the theory of Cohesive Devices and the Functional Grammar proposed by Halliday and Hasan.

There has been a number of researchers giving notions regarding classifiers and turning them as study object. Lock (in Aziz, 2009:1) defines classifiers as words which subclassify the thing. Classifiers identify a subclass which the thing either is or is not a member of. Lehrer (1985:1) stated that classifier is constructions which include partitives, pseudo-partitives, and measure phrases. Allan (in Lehrer, 2016:111) lists seven categories of classifiers as follows: (1) Unit counters: a piece of equipment, two head of cattle. (2) Fractional classifiers: three quarters of the cake. (3) Number set classifiers: many hundreds of people, dozens of birds. (4) Collective classifiers: Two clumps of grass, a herd of animals. (5) Varietal classifiers: two species of wheat, all kinds of flowers. (6) Measure classifiers: two pounds of cabbage, one liter of wine, a box of candy, a bowl of sugar. (7) Arrangement classifiers: Two rows of beans, three stacks of books. In addition to these, Jelinek (in Lehrer, 1986:111) pointed out another idea of classifiers called metaphorical comparison classifiers which compare things metaphorically, such as a bear of a man, a slip of a girl, and a dream of a house. Other types of classifiers proposed by Croft (2015:4) are shown as follows:

Classifier Type	Semantic/ Pragmatic Function
Noun Class	Determination (Reference)
Numeral Classifier	Enumeration
Possessive Classifier	Possession
Predicate Classifier	Spatial Predication

Syntactically, classifiers are constructed by (Det1) N of (Det2) N. A more complex structure, however, has been previously explained where classifiers consist of partitives, pseudo-partitives, and measure phrases. Partitives contain a

determiner between of and the following noun phrase (NP) as can be seen in these examples where her and that are the partitives, i.e., a number of her objections and three pounds of that meat. Pseudo-partitives, in contrast, have no determiner between the of and the following NP, e.g., a bunch of flowers and a selection of commentaries. The last element, measure phrases is constructed by quantifier or quantifier-like nouns as in many objections and a number of objections. In spite of this structure, noun phrases with classifiers are mainly constructed by numeral adjectives, classifiers, and nouns.

Semantically, classifiers influence the meaning of a noun phrase, for instance a piece of wood, a flock of birds, and a head of lettuce. These noun phrase, are constructed by piece, flock, and head as the classifiers and wood, birds, and lettuce as the head of the noun phrase. As heads, those words still have their literal meaning. However, the presence of classifiers gives more specific meaning to the heads. The classifier piece, according to Oxford online dictionary, means an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the rest of it, if it is combined with wood it refers to the part of the wood (small part of wood) that has been taken from the whole wood. The same case happens in the second noun phrase where flock refers to a group of sheep, goats or birds of the same type. Its combination with birds will mean a group of bird with the same type. The last classifier, head is rarely encountered and shows a tendency to be a noun that modifies another noun. Yet it is a classifier to state that something is round (having similar shape to a head). In addition to these, there are other classifiers semantically contributing to meaning of the phrase, for instance bottle and cup (referring to the thing’s container) as in a bottle of water and a cup of tea; stack and pile (referring to the way something is arranged) as in a stack of book and a pile of paper; and day and month (referring to the periods of time) as in one day and six months.

This short description about classifiers has finally led to the notion of semantic classifier. This

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concept basically means words (mostly nouns) which give or complete the meaning of another noun by modifying it within a noun phrase. In this case, the classifier acts as a modifier whereas the noun is the head of the phrase.

• 3.    Results and Discussion
  
  3.1    Results

Japanese and Indonesian classifiers demonstrate different behavior when it comes to usage (both in sentence and utterance). The former requires classifiers in either sentences or utterances; the latter, however, does not. Syntactically, Japanese classifiers form two different patterns whenever combined with numeral adjective, i.e.,

N1 + particle + numeral adjective + Cl

This pattern is possible in as in Bensu (N1) o (particle) kyuu (numeral adjective) dai (Cl). In this construction, the numeral adjective and classifier modify the noun, i.e., Bensu. Another role is showed another possible pattern can such as:

Numeral adjective + Cl

This pattern is used in the construction hitori (N1 + Cl) (ichi-nin) wa kowai kara iyadayo! it is interesting to notice that in the second pattern, classifier turn a numeral adjective to modify the adjective i.e., kowai.

Indonesian language presents different structure with the following pattern,

Numeral adjective + Cl+ N1

Ismail tetap tidak punya apa-apa kecuali tiga kerat roti. The bold typed phrase consists of a numeral adjective (tiga), a classifier (kerat), and a noun (roti). In Indonesian language, it is still acceptable to inverse the phrase into roti tiga kerat, to follow the following pattern:

N1 + Numeral adjective + Cl

Another characteristic spotted in Indonesian language is that it is also possible to dismiss the classifiers to avoid formality, therefore it is very common to meet this phrase, tiga roti yet the meaning remains the same as in tiga kerat roti. Japanese language, in contrast, is unable to directly use a numeral adjective and noun altogether due to the characteristic of the numeral; it cannot directly modify a noun. Thus, in the phrase ichirin no hana consisting of ichi (numeral adjective), rin (a classifier), no (particle), and hana (noun), rin is obligatory since the word ichi cannot directly modify hana.

• 3.2 . Discussion

• 4.1.    Japanese Classifiers

Japanese language is well-known as an obligatory-classifier language. According to Sudo (2016:1) what makes Japanese an obligatory classifier language is not the semantics of nouns but the semantics of numerals. Specifically, evidence is presented that numerals in Japanese cannot function as predicates on their own, which is taken as evidence that the extensions of numerals in Japanese are exclusively singular terms. In other words, classifier is required for the numerals to modify a noun phrase, for example:

• (1)    ichi*(-rin)-no-hana one-cl-gen-flower ‘one flower’

(Sudo, 2006:2)

This phrase is constructed by the numeral adjective (ichi), classifier (rin), particle (no) and the noun (hana). Rin is a specific classifier to count flowers and it should accompany the occurrence of ichi since ichi cannot directly modify the noun hana. Therefore, it can be stated that ichi rin now can be the modifier of the noun (head of the noun phrase) hana. Japanese language has 350 classifiers, or counters and are divided into several groups, i.e.,

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Absolutely Must-Know Counters 2
Must-Know Counters	17
Common Counters	47
Somewhat Common Counters	205
Rare But Interesting Counters	22
Gairaigo Counters	57

This article will only discuss the first two categories since those are the most frequently used classifiers in Japanese, especially the absolutely must-know counters because it can cover the role of other classifiers. The rest categories are used, yet they are not very common and frequent. The absolutely must-know counters and the must-know counters along with their function and use are presented in the following Table.

NO .	CLA SSIF IERS	THINGS COUNTED	SENTENCE EXAMPLE
1	~tsu つ	General （to count anything in Japanese Language）	Mikan ga mitsu arimasu There are three oranges
2	~ko 個/こ	Chinese version of ~tsu, can be used to count anything with clear distinct boundary and shape	Odeko ni nikibi ga san ko motekita I got three pimples on my forehead
3	~hon 本 （ ほん）	Long things or things with stick-shape, e.g. pencils, twigs, clindrical batteries, bottles, cans, etc	Pen o ippon kashitekuremas enka Could you lend me one of your pens?
4	~mai 枚 （ まい）	Flat things and clothes e.g. papers, t-shirts, cards, pants, etc	100 mai no origami ga hitsuyou desu （I） need 100 pieces of origami paper

5	~hiki 匹 （ ひき）	Small up to medium sized animal （or if you can pick the animals up）. In some cases, this counters can also be used to count monsters, and animal-like people.	Inu o ippiki to neko o ni hiki katteimasu We have one dog and two cats.
6	~tou 頭 （ とう）	Large-sized animals or animals you cannot pick, e.g. cows, goats, livestocks, etc.	Kurisumasu ni santa kuroosu kara ushi wo hattou moratta Santa gave me eight cows on Christmas Day
7	~wa 羽 （ わ）	Birds, origami cranes. Yet in some cases, it can also count rabbits.	Niwa ni wa ni wa niwatori ga imasu In the yard, there are two chickens.
8	~sats u 冊 （ さつ）	Books	Kouichi wa mainichi nana satsu no hon o yomimasu Kouichi reads seven books every day.
9	~dai 台 （ だい）	Transportations, machines, instruments, something you can stand or put things on	Ben wa Bensu o kyuu dai motteimasu Ben owns nine Mercedes Benz cars.
10	~fun 分 （ ふん）	Minute （time）	Gomen! Ippun chikoku shi sou! Sorry! I'll be a minute late!
11	~ka/n	Days or stating	Raigetsu no

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	ichi 日 （ か/に ち）	certain day of the month	mikkatte nani shiteru? What are you up to on the third day of next month?
12	~nen 年 （ ねん）	Years and grade （in highschool, college, or university）	Ima, daigaku ichi nensei desu I'm in the first year of university now
13	~kai 回 （ かい）	Frequency, chance of something happens	Nihon ni wa nankai itta koto ga arimasuka How many times have you been to Japan?
14	~ri/ni n 人 （ り/に ん）	Humans, people	Hitori wa kowai kara iyadayo! I don't want to be alone because I'll be scared.
15	~tsuk i/gats u 月 （ つき/ がつ）	Months	Boku no tanjoubi wa ichi gatsu tsuitachi desu My birthday is January the first
16	~ji 時 （じ）	To state time, e.g.....o’clock	San-ji desu It is three o'clock.
17	~jika n 時間 （じか ん）	Hour	Ni jikan go ni aimashou! Let's meet up in two hours!
18	~kai 階 （ かい）	Building’s floors	Watashi no heya wa junikai ni arimasu My room is on

	the twelfth floor
19    ~sai    In general, it	Kouichi no
歳 （   states the age of	obaachan tte
さい） humans and animals	ima nansai? How old is Koichi's grandma now?

Table 1. Japanese Classifiers and Their Function in Sentences

As shown in the Table, each noun has their own classifier. The first two classifiers are the absolutely must-know classifiers which can count almost anything in general. The other seventeen classifiers are the most encountered and used classifier for specific nouns. If a speaker does not know what classifier to use for certain noun, -tsu and –ko can replace those seventeen classifiers. Most of the classifiers are formed based on the things or noun they modify, for example the classifiers nichi, gatsu, and nen, used for counting days month, and year, which respectively mean day, month, and year.

• 4.2.    Indonesian Classifiers

In contrary to Japanese language, Indonesian is not an obligatory classifier language. This is due to the nature of numeral adjective that can directly modify a noun, for instance empat burung, lima kuda, sepuluh kendaraan, etc. Therefore, a noun phrase may have the same meaning whether or not the classifier is used. In several occasion, classifers are sometimes omitted to make the sentence more concise, natural, and casual. According to Chaer, as quoted by Cerianti （2011:45）, stated that kata bantu bilangan adalah kata yang digunakan sebagai tanda pengenal benda dan digunakan dibelakang kata bilangan dalam menyebutkan jumlah suatu benda （classifiers are the words used behind the numerals as a noun identifier in counting things）. Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Indonesia divides classifiers into several types based on their functions which are presented as follows.

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N O	CLASSI FIERS	THINGS COUNTED	SENTENCE EXAMPLES	bracelets, or other things			bentuk cincin, masing-masing
1	Orang	Humans	Saudagar tersebut mempunyai dua orang anak laki-laki. (digilib.stainponoro go.ac.id, crawled on 10/02/2014) That merchant has			that can be bent	beratnya 50 gram (https://brainly.co.i d/tugas/18397836, crawled on 18/06/2020) Mom buys three rings, each weighing 50 grams.
			two sons	6	Bidang	Land, rice	Nama Sumampouw
2	Ekor	Animals	Hasilnya, delapan ekor anak jalak Bali. (bookmark.dewaseo .co.id, crawled on 08/02/2014) As the result, there are eight Jalak Bali chicks			fields, or other wide and flat things	sendiri tertera dalam kepemilikan sertifikat atas dua bidang tanah itu. (harianmetro.co.id, crawled on 04/02/2014) The name of Sumampouw itself
3	Buah	Fruits or other things besides humans and	Setiap sachet berisi tiga buah kondom. (www.sumenepkab. go.id, crawled on				is stated in that ownership certificate of both of those lands
		animals	29/01/2014) Every sachet contains three condoms	7	Belah	Eyes, ears, or other things in pairs	Kedua belah pihak mulai saling ancam. (www.indopos.co.id
4	Batang	Trees, cigarettes, other things with cylindrical	Ketika melintasinya, saya melihat beberapa batang pohon yang tumbuh dari pohon				, crawled on 07/02/2014) Both sides start threatening each other
		shape	yang sudah ditebang. (amitofo.wordpress .com, crawled on 07/05/2012) When crossing it, I saw a number of tree trunks growing from trees that had been cut down	8	Helai	Papers, hairs, fabrics, or other thin and soft things	Kemudian rebus dengan perbandingan air satu gelas dan dua helai daun papaya. (www.sps.itb.ac.id, crawled on 01/02/2014) Then boil it with the ratio of one
5	Bentuk	Rings,	Ibu membeli 3				glass of water and

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			two papaya leaves
9	Bilah	Knives, swords, or other sharp things	Di TKP, polisi menemukan dua bilah pisau dan ceceran darah di lantai atas. (www.indosiar.com , crawled on 25/04/2012) In the crime scene, polices found two knives and blood spills
10	Utas	Threads, ropes, or other small and long things	Ada juga orang yang menggunakan dua utas tali atau rotan, yang diikat pada bebatuan di tepi sungai. (pn-gunungsitoli.go.id, crawled on 31/01/2014) There are some people using two ropes or rattan tied on the stone in the river bank
11	Potong	Shirts, pants, or part of things	Artinya jangan sekali-sekali menyetrika hanya satu dua potong pakaian saja. (sma.marsudirini-bgr.sch.id, crawled on 07/02/2014) It means never iron only one or two pieces of clothes
12	Tangkai	Flowers, pens, or other things having stalks/stems	Dalam satu tangkai, saat bunga pertama mekar bisa bertahan hingga kuncup terakhir mekar.

	(digilib.stmik-aub.ac.id, crawled on 07/02/2014) In one stalk, when the first blooming flower survives until the last bud blooms
13   Butir	Marbles,     Jumlah telur eggs, or      mencapai tiga butir other small   setiap periode and round    berbiak. things        (www.kutilang.or.id , crawled on 03/02/2014) There can be three eggs in each birth period
14  Pucuk	Letters or    Kiai Yusuf dan guns        pengawalnya hanya memiliki tujuh pucuk senapan dan dua peti granat. (hermawanrizal.wo rdpress.com, crawled on 07/05/2012) Kiai Yusuf and his guardians only have seven guns and two chests of grenades
15   Carik	Papers       Saat diperiksa ternyata ada dua carik kertas yang ditemukan polisi di saku celana Ahmad. (www.surya.co.id, crawled on 25/04/2012) During the investigation, there are two letters

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			found by the polices inside Ahmad’s pocket				berkembang, semakin banyak. (kolom.abatasa.co.i
16	Rumpun	Rice-plants, bamboo, or other plants in group	Satu rumpun ubi jalar yang dipanen hanya berisi satu ubi raksasa itu. (jagb.journal.ipb.ac .id, crawled on				d, crawled on 31/01/2014) From one bud to two buds, keep growing into more buds
			13/02/2014) One harvested group of yam only consists of one giant yam	20	Patah	Words	Tiada satu patah katapun yang kita ucapkan luput dari pendengaran Allah. (darwisyah.staff.ipb
17	Keping	Coins	Ratusan keping CD dan DVD pun mulai mengingatkanku pada banyak kisah.				.ac.id, crawled on 29/01/2014) There is no even one word we say that Allah misses
			(k2oke.multiply.co m, crawled on 07/05/2012) Hundreds of CDs and DVDs start reminding me of many stories	21	Laras	Guns	Padahal proyektil itu dari dua laras yang berbeda (www.penjualan.we b.id, crawled on 01/02/2014) Even though that
18	Biji	Eyes, corns, marbles, rice-plants	Wanita itu membawa beberapa biji buah				projectile comes from two different barrels
			limau sebagai hadiah untuk baginda. (www.flexmedia.co. id, crawled on 02/02/2014) That lady brings several limes as a present for the majesty	22	Kerat	Breads, meats	Ismail tetap tidak punya apa-apa kecuali tiga kerat roti untuk istrinya yang masih lemah itu. (anangqhosym.blog spot.com, crawled on 07/05/2012) Ismail does not
19	Kuntum	Flowers	Dari satu kuntum menjadi dua kuntum, berkembang lagi,				have anything except three slices of bread for his weak wife
			terus dan terus

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Table 2. Indonesian Classifiers and Their Functions in Sentences

Unlike Japanese, classifiers are optional in Indonesian language. Thus, it is perfectly fine to say tiga roti instead of tiga kerat roti. However, just like Japanese, Indonesian language has classifier that can replace other classifiers in the sentence, i.e. buah, therefore, all of the classifiers in the noun phrases, such as tiga kerat roti, satu patah kata, dan satu atau dua potong pakaian can be replaced with buah, to be tiga buah roti, satu buah kata, dan satu atau dua buah pakaian.

In general, Indonesian language has less classifier than Japanese, since Japanese has 350 classifiers to be used. However, only 19 of them are frequently used by the speakers. Surprisingly, despite its characteristic as an optional-classifier language, Indonesian language has 22 classifiers that are quite popular and frequently used by the native speakers although omission often occurs in spoken variation. Most of these classifiers are also formed based on the noun following them.

• 4.3.    The Comparison

In terms of structure, Japanese classifiers are similar to those in Indonesian language. Japanese classifiers occur together with their numeral adjectives as in Ben wa Bensu o kyuu dai motteimasu, watashi no heya wa junikai ni arimasu, boku no tanjoubi wa ichi gatsu tsuitachi desu. In general, the structure of their noun phrase are presented as follows:

N1 + particle + numeral adjective + Cl

The N1 referes to the noun (Bensu, heya, and tanjoubi), particle refers to o, wa, and wa, numeral adjective refers to kyuu, juuni, and ichi, and Cl refers to the classifier dai, kai, and gatsu. Some Japanese classifiers are written attached to their numerals, other ones can be written sepearately, while the others change their forms when used with their numeral, such as –nin. To state one person in Japanese, instead of saying ichi-nin the classifier

fuses with its numeral into hitori, it also occurs in futari to state two people. –Nin is back into its original form as in san-in (three people). The same case occurs in –hon, -hiki, and –fun which change their forms into –pon, -piki, and –pun to say ippon, ippiki, and ippun. These classifiers are back into their original form as in juuni-hon, ni-hiki, and yon-fun. This kind of change, nevertheless, does not influence the meaning of the whole noun phrase. However, the omission of classifier brings change to the phrase since a numeral adjective only is unable to modify a noun, verb, or even adjective.

Now let us have a look at other sentences, ni jikan go ni aimashou! and hitori (ichi-nin) wa kowai kara iyadayo! that do not have any noun phrase. Both of the sentences use classifiers and the numeral adjectives as to modify the verb aimashou and the adjective kowai. The classifiers’ structure is presented as follows:

Numeral adjective + Cl

The numeral adjective refers to ni and ichi in hitori, whereas the Cl refers to jikan and –nin (the classifiers). Since classifiers also belong to noun, it does not always have to be followed by another noun. These constructions are interesting; the first one shows how the classifier is not followed by noun, yet the particle and verb are following after it. The second construction has a fusion type classifier since it fuses with the noun nin. As a result, hitori is used and is more natural than ichi-nin, same case is shown in futari which is taken from ni-nin, meaning two people.

Indonesian classifiers are more likely to show similar nature as Japanese when being used in phrase or construction in terms of structure, in which they have to occur together with the numeral classifiers. Corpus of Indonesian language have collected a number of possible constructions, and some of them are presented as follows:

• a.    …padahal proyektil itu dari dua laras yang berbeda;

• b.    Ismail tetap tidak punya apa-apa kecuali tiga kerat roti untuk istrinya yang masih lemah itu

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These constructions can be presented in the following structure:

• a.    Numeral adjective + Cl + (N1)
  
  b.    Numeral adjective + Cl + N1

The numeral adjective refers to dua and tiga, the Cl refers to the determiners kerat and laras, while N1 refers to roti and senjata which is omitted in the first construction. In the first construction, it is possible to omit the noun that should follow the classifier, the noun should be senjata, however, it has been mentioned previously, making the context clear. Furthermore, Indonesian classifier can show similar nature to those in Japanese in terms of fusion. When Japanese has the hitori and futari, Indonesian language has se-, meaning “one” to indicate something singular, for example satu orang becomes seorang, satu buah into sebuah, satu batang into sebatang, satu kerat into sekerat. This form, however, is considered more natural than saying satu batang. Fortunately, this change does not affect the meaning of the whole noun phrase.

Other characteristics of Indonesian classifiers and numerals adjectives are some numeral classifiers can be replaced with beberapa if the speakers are not sure or do not know about the amount of the thing. In addition to replacement of numeral, classifiers can also be omitted in a sentence to sound more casual. Thus, it is also permitted to say another form such as dua senjata where the classifier is omitted and only the numeral adjective and the noun are left.

• 4.    Conclusion

Classifiers has been integral part of a language, yet each language has its respective way in treating and use classifiers. Japanese and Indonesian languages clearly depict the nature of classifiers through its constructions. Japanese language has 19 classifiers consisting of two absolutely must-know counters and seventeen must-know counters, whereas Indonesian language has twenty-two classifiers to use. Japanese is an

obligatory classifiers language since a numeral adjective only cannot modify nouns, verbs, or even adjectives. In contrast with Indonesian language that treats classifiers as optional, thus it is natural to say a numeral adjective that is directly followed by a noun. In other words, semantically speaking, Indonesian and Japanese classifiers are different to the point that their presence affect the meaning of the whole phrase, even in Indonesian language, classifiers are often omitted to avoid formality. Nevertheless, a similar aspect exists where both Japanese and Indonesian languages allow fusion for the classifiers with the noun as in hitori (ichi-nin), ippiki (ichi-hiki), ippon (ichi-hon), and ippun (ichi-fun), sebatang rokok, sekuntum bunga, and sepiring nasi, yet the meaning remains the same.

Syntactically, there is no much difference of the structure formed by Japanese and Indonesian classifiers. Both languages’ classifiers are written after numeral adjectives. However, Japanese allows the classifiers, together with numeral adjective forming a noun phrase, to precede particles (wo/ha/mo) and verbs or adjectives to modify them.

• 5.    References

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