在各种语言学范畴中，数量范畴也许是最为人所忽视，这多少是因为人们只是习惯于单数和复数这样的二元对立。本书作者收集了250种语言的相关材料，从更为宽阔的事业来分析数量范畴的可能系统，不但揭示了其、表达的多样性，而且发现了各种令人意想不到的 特殊功能。这一研究对于语言范畴的类型学探索具有非常重要的意义。

Listoffigures pagexii

 List oftables    xjv

 Preface  xvii

 List ofabbreviations  xix

 1 Introduction   l

 2 Meaning distinctions   9

 3 Items involved in the nominal number system   54

 4 Integrating number values and the Animacy Hierarchy  89

 5 The expression of number   l33

 6 The syntax of number   178

 7 Other uses of number   219

 8 Verbai nunbet   243

 9 Conclusion and new challenges   265

 References    299

 Author index    343

 Language index    351

 Subiect index     356

During the ten years that I have been working on this book，many people haveoffered data，jdeas，comments and other help．It iS a pleasure to record my thanks to hem：Alexandra Aikhenvald，Peter Austin，Matthew Baerman，Julia Barron，Laurie Bauer,Barry Blake，Jim Blevins,Juliette Blevins，Misi Brody,Jiirgen Broschart，Dunstan Brown，Gordon Brown，Wayles Browne，Wallace Chafe，Hilary Chappell，Ross Clark，Ulrike Claudi，Richard Coates,Michael Colenso．StanfordCormack，Alan Cruse，Anna Morpurgo Davies，Alan Dench，Aleksandra Derganc， Ivan Derzhanski，WeFlier Drossard，Barrie Evans,Nick Evans．Roger Evans，RayFabri，William Foley,Michael Fortescue，Victor Friedman，Norman Fraser,Gerald Gazdar,Adele Goldberg，Ian Green，Rebecca Green，Ekaterina Gruzdeva，Tom Giildemann，Ken Hale,Shelly Harrison，Mark Harvey,Martin Haspelmath，Katrina Hayward，Bernd Heine，George Hewitt，Jane Hill，Nikolaus Himmelmann， Andrew Hippisley,Robert Hoberman，Richard Hogg，Axel Holvoet，Lfiszl6 Honti， Jim Hurford，Don Hutchisson，Larry Hyman，Ruth Kempson，Aleksandr Kibrik， Simon Kirby,Klaus-Michael K6pcke，Antonina Koval"，Ulla．Maija Kulonen。Klaus Laalo，Mary Laughren，Velma Leeding，Werner Lehfeldt．Frank Lichtenberk，Jouko Lindstedt，Elizabeth L6bel，Paul Marriott，Michael Mitchell、Arto Mustajoki，David Nash，Johanna Nichols，Almerindo ojeda，Janez Ore~nik． Barbara Partee，Frans Plank，Maria Polinsky,Tom Priestly,Robert Ratcliffe,Nick Reid，Bruce Rigsby,Jan Rijkoff,John Roberts，John Saeed，Hans．Jfirgen Sasse， Wolfgang Schellinger,Harold Schiffman，Jane Simpson，Elena Skribnik，Nell Smith，Gerald Stone，Greg Stump，Roland Sussex，Dalija Tekoriene，Hannu Tommola，Larry Trask，Robert Van Valin，Nigel Vincent．MaxⅥ飞eeler,David Wilkins and Dieter Wunderlich．I am particularly thankful to those who generously shared the data and insights gained from fieldwork in difierent parts of the world． Special thanks are due to the following colleagues and friends who have had a sub． stantial influence on the book：Bernard Comrie,David Gil．Dick Hayward． Marianne Mithun．Edith Moravcsik and Maleolm Ross． At different times the research reported here has been supported by the ESRC (grants R000222419 and R000238228)，and by the British Academy．This support is gratefully acknowledged．Writing was facilitated by stays at：the Centre for Language Teaching and Research，University of Queensland，April-June 1 99 1 and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology,Leipzig， June-July l 999(made possible by Roland Sussex and Bernard Comrie respectively)．Various audiences have been interested and helpful；I thank all participants，particularly those at the Australian Linguistic Institute(La Trobe University 1 994)，the International Summer School on Typology(Mainz 1 998)， the members of the Noun Phrase Group in the EUROTYP project(funded by the ESF l 99O-41 and the participants in the seminar series"Challenges for Inflectional Description"ffunded by the ESRC 1996-9)．Preliminary results were published in a EURDTYP working paper(1992)，which is superseded by the account here． I am also very grateful to the team at Cambridge University Press for their professionalism，in particular Andrew Winnard，Citi POtts，Peter Ducker and Robert Whitelock，to Alan Rayner for expert typesetting，and to Dunstan Brown and Matthew Baerman for welcome help during the last stages of the work． And now a Jakobson stor~Haugen f1975：326)recalls that Jakobson told him that 1"esni6re"s book on number Lesformes du duel en slooP．published in Paris in 1925．was made a best．seller by potential readers who assumed it was about duelling in Slovenia．The present book may not be snapped up by a public mistakenly eager for the latest contribution to number theor~But if a few stray mathe． maticians read it，I hope they will find that the linguistic number systems analysed here show the elegance and complexity they are accustomed to in their area of enquiry．