Ordinal Expressions in Japanese. Papers in Japanese Linguistics, Vol. 2, No. 1.

The varied forms and semantic factors of Japanese ordinal expressions are related to one another in a coherent system. In Japanese, the cardinal number form is a numeral compound in construction with a referent. The numeral compound consists of a number and a numeral adjunct. Numeral adjuncts are derived from bound forms, or numeral suffixes, and free forms, or count nouns. Underlying the behavior of Japanese ordinals is a basic division of two types of sequences: quantitative (open-ended and composed of independent members) and constitutive (closed, with interlocking and interdependent members). The form associated with quantitative sentences consists of a "-me" ordinal modifying by means of the particle "no" a class noun or a noun denoting a container. Numeral adjuncts in quantitative sentences specify four kinds of units: container, partitive, collective, and generic. In constitutive sentences the ordinal affixes "-me,""dai-" and "-banme" are used, where "dai-" has a more formal connotation than "-me" and "-banme." A number of special constitutive sequences such as standard measures, time units, appellatives, and quasi-appellatives are grouped and explained separately. (CHK)