Editing Measure word (section)

==Classifiers versus measure words==
[[Classifier (linguistics)|Classifiers]] play a similar role to measure words, except that measure words denote a particular quantity of something (a drop, a cupful, a pint, etc.), rather than the inherent countable units associated with a [[count noun]]. Classifiers are used with count nouns; measure words can be used with mass nouns (e.g. "two pints of mud"), and can also be used when a count noun's quantity is not described in terms of its inherent countable units (e.g. "two pints of acorns").

However, the terminological distinction between classifiers and measure words is often blurred – classifiers are commonly referred to as measure words in some contexts, such as Chinese language teaching, and measure words are sometimes called ''mass-classifiers'' or similar.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Tai | first=James H.-Y. | author-link=James Tai | year=1994 | chapter=Chinese classifier systems and human categorization |editor=William S.-Y. Wang |editor2=M. Y. Chen |editor3=Ovid J.L. Tzeng |editor1-link=William S-Y. Wang |editor3-link=Ovid Tzeng| title=In honor of William S.-Y. Wang: Interdisciplinary studies on language and language change | page=2 | location=Taipei | publisher=Pyramid Press | isbn=978-957-9268-55-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Cheng | first1=Lisa L.-S. | first2=Rint | last2=Sybesma | author-link=Lisa Cheng (linguist) | year=1998 | title=''yi-wan tang'' and ''yi-ge Tang'': Classifiers and mass-classifiers | journal=Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies | volume=28 | issue=3 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28639748 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316062959/https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lisa-Cheng-5/publication/28639748_Yi-wan_tang_yi-ge_Tang_Classifiers_and_massifiers/links/565cbdee08ae1ef92981f496/Yi-wan-tang-yi-ge-Tang-Classifiers-and-massifiers.pdf |archivedate=2021-03-16}}</ref>