Classifiers

1. Introduction
2. Semantic
3. Descriptive
4. Handling and instrumental

5

Constructions incorporating a classifier reproduce visual features of the situations, actions and objects that are being referred to. For that reason they are said to be highly iconic. That doesn't mean, however, that they can always be interpreted in a straightforward way. See the following example.

    "To get in a car."

Here it is necessary to know that the car classifier refers to a car and that the hand configuration  curved-V refers to a human being getting in a car.