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Hyla,
Not all classifiers can be used to describe things; that is to say, they are not general base forms to be applied to everything. Using the stone column example, I could say that -li and -la are only applicable to inantimate objects, and that if we were talking about animate objects, it would have to be -bi and -ba.
The classifier used in the CAR example is the classifier for any vehicle. It isn't polysynthetic because the signer uses the handshape and motion very distinctly different when it is "classifying" compared to merely being used as a sign.
You could classify something as being flat and smooth, but logically, that classifier would only apply to physically existing objects that could fit into that category (sheet of paper, calm waters, Pergo flooring, and even a metaphorically-used poker face).
When signing or classifing CAR, you could signify a long car by using a specific arm movement (farther from the body), puckered lips, and a head tilt to the side. You could convey a short car by holding the sign or classifier in tight to the body, keeping your head pulled up and back, and piercing the lips together tightly.
My apologies for the longwindedness. In all the on-line discussions I've had with others (including graduate classes in ASL linguistics), we always struggle with written forms of conveying such intricate visual detail. I'm still waiting for the digital video revolution...
Brandon
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Indonesian has classifiers too, though not as elaborate a system as Brandon describes for ASL. Indonesian classifiers are mainly used in counting things, e.g.,
dua ekor kucing (two cats, ekor literally means tail and is used as the classifier for animals)
tiga batang rokok (three cigarettes, batang literally means tree trunk and is used as the classifier for cylindrical objects)
empat lembar foto (four photos, lembar literally means sheet of paper and is used for small flat objects)
lima bidang tanah (five plots of land, bidang means field and is used for big flat objects)
enam buah mobil (six cars, buah means fruit and is used for objects that don't have their own classifier)
tujuh orang guru (seven teachers, orang means person and is used for people).
They're mainly used in more formal language and can be omitted without changing the meaning. Indonesians often try and use piece or unit as a classifier in English. Five piece car to mean five cars, for example.
Bingley
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Brandon offers his apologies for the longwindedness.
Apoplogize not, good Brandon. This is extremely fascinating and just what this board is here for.
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Thanks for the Indonesian lesson in classifiers. I especially liked the tiga batang rokok (three cigarettes, batang literally means tree trunk and is used as the classifier for cylindrical objects) . Maybe the tobacco companies can include that imagery in their campaigns...
Brandon
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Thought I'd posted this but cannnot find it, so ... For finger spelling with pictures illustrating how-to : http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/abc/az.html I had posted the home page but upon checking the plain .org address it says discontinued. Know any reason why Brandon?
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thank you Bingley-- you included the only word from Indonesian that i was conscious of knowing..
tujuh orang guru-- and now i can count-- dua, tiga, empat, lima, eman, tujuh-- well amost count-- one pretty important number missing..
English has some classifiers, in the form of suffixes-- for small, een( from the irish)-- eeny meeny-- very tiny, or smithereens or ette from the french-- luncheonette or cigarette-- and one for about --ish sevenish or redish and in US-- for political scandel we now have -gate (watergate or monicagate, or whitewatergate)
i think there are others too. Most are vestages, but like doubled words- (attitude, schmatitude, or zig-zag) they are not the normal way of intensifying meaning-- but will occationaly crop up.. and they are understood-- gate is very well understood!
an other thread discussed some of the very old (and rapidly disappearing) feminizers.. actor (actress), aviator (aviatrix) waiter, (waitress), steward, etc. the feminist movement has helped.. but these classifers were disappearing even with out that trend.
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http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/abc/az.html
I had posted the home page but upon checking the plain .org address it says discontinued.
Know any reason why Brandon?
DeafWorldWeb has been having its ups and downs recently. Not exactly sure why typing in the home address doesn't work, so stick to the extended version and backtrack.
Brandon
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In reply to:
and now i can count-- dua, tiga, empat, lima, eman, tujuh-- well amost count-- one pretty important number missing..
You had to ask, didn't you? 
Satu = one, for example satu meja (one table). But there is also a prefix for one (like English has bi- for two), se-. The prefix is used with classifiers, so sebuah meja, seorang guru, etc.
The prefix is also used in higher numbers:
sepuluh ten, duapuluh twenty
sebelas eleven, empatbelas fourteen
seratus one hundred, delapan ratus eight hundred
seribu one thousand, sembilan ribu nine thousand
Now class, seratus enambelas ribu lima ratus sembilanpuluh satu = ?
Bingley
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Now class, seratus enambelas ribu lima ratus sembilanpuluh satu = ?
oo oo, I know!
116 591
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Betul. (that's right)
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