| Abstrakt: |
The individuation of an enumerated noun in many Asian languages requires the modification of the noun stem with a numeral and a specific classifier. Malay noun classifier as a grammar topic is a worthy lesson unit in the curriculum of Malay as a foreign language. This is because the topic highlights the construction differences between a Malay noun iteration and an English noun iteration, respectively. Furthermore, a pedagogical discussion on noun classifiers presents a cross-cultural worldview on noun enumeration in Malay to speakers of nonclassifier languages such as English. Selecting an accurate Malay noun classifier for enumeration under-scores the understanding of a unique noun phrase structure, thus important to Malay language maintenance. In teaching Malay classifiers, the conversation techniques exploited for iterating the Malay nouns frame the iterated Malay nominal references based on the distinction between type and token. Underlying a nominal specification is a noun classifier that conceptually derives a token of the noun type. Cultural generalization rounds off the learning for special Malay classifiers such as bentuk (shape) and kaki (foot) in this discussion. Debunking the conventional bias, we propose that memorization is relevant to acquire sebentuk cincin ‘a shape of ring’, or sekaki payung ‘a foot of umbrella’ in Malay similar to a learner memorizing a school of fish, or a fleet of aircraft carriers in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
