General introduction

In the previous chapters, I have generally treated the Classifier zone as if it always contained only a single word; but, as I noted in the chapter on zones, that is a simplification: the Classifier zone not only often has several words, but it has a structure of its own. This chapter sets out and explains that internal structure, which is complex and quite different from the structure of the other zones; its discussion of semantics parallels chapter 3, expanding §3.2 in particular, and its discussion of syntax parallels chapter 4.

The chapter starts afresh from the discussion of zones in chapter 2, because there are fresh facts to be explained, as follows. First, there are subzones within the Classifier zone, which show coordination within the subzone and subordination of the subzones to following ones, as in examples (1) and (2).