The Grammaticalization of the Numeral Classifier, done (ne) in Tāti

Grammaticalization is the change in language whereby lexical items and constructions come in certain linguistic contexts to serve grammatical functions, and, once grammaticalized, continue to develop new grammatical functions. Classifiers typically index some perceived characteristics of the phenomenon to which the classification refers. Classifiers indicate the organization of knowledge among native speakers of a language, so they are based on common cultural aspects among speakers of that language for classifying concepts. Development of numeral classifiers in Tāti is an instance of grammaticalization. Studying numeral classifiers indicates that these words are the result of grammaticalization of a noun into a classifier. These linguistic elements have lost their lexical characteristics and instead, have gained properties of functional items. This research studies the grammaticalization process of numeral classifier "ne" in Tāti dialect of Tākestān.