Ricerc@Sapienza

Together with the analysis and classification of “full words” and “empty words” as well as parts of speech, classifiers have always represented one of the main focuses of analyses carried out by foreign missionaries and scholars in grammar and teaching materials compiled for studying Chinese. In this article, I will briefly describe and analyse the lexicographical contribution to the history of the Chinese language provided by different foreign scholars. The article will focus on the classification and description of classifiers as expressed in different lexicographical works, particularly grammatical and miscellaneous texts edited between the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The author will particularly highlight how the value of these analyses has not always moved forward in a linear way; they frequently show, instead, discrepancies and uncertainties, but at the same time they often reveal enlightening considerations ahead of their time.