The category of counting in the theory of language contacts (on the material of Russian and Chinese languages)

Abstract

In Russian and Chinese languages, there is an idea of the objects that can be counted and the objects that can be measured. Such opposition forms the grammatical core of the counting category of noun. Although the quantitative relations in these languages have been comprehensively and in detail studied, there is no comparative analysis of them. The presence of such an analysis can lead to a better understanding of the grammar of a foreign language, and therefore, contribute to the formation of linguistic competence. In this regard, the authors examine and compare counting structures and their units in Russian and Chinese. Through theoretical analysis differences and similarities are identified. The authors also discover the location of grammatical errors related to non-native counting structures and explain the reasons for their occurrence. The materials of the paper may be of interest to specialists in the field of the theory of linguistic contacts, as well as to instructors of Russian and Chinese as a foreign language.