Re: Clitics

> From: Nik Taylor
> Matt Pearson wrote:
> > Also, technically speaking, articles are not attached to the beginning
> > of the noun phrase.  They are *internal* to the noun phrase, albeit at
> > the left edge of the constituent.  Clitics like possessive -'s
> in English,
> > by contrast, are *external* to the noun phrase (at least on some
> > analyses).
>
> I really don't see how -'s is external to the noun phrase, while "the"
> isn't.  In my usage of "clitic", it's most definitely a clitic.  I use
> the definition that it's a bound morpheme, that is, cannot be used
> alone, but can be separated from the word it belongs to.  In other
> words, halfway between an affix and a word.  I had thought that that was
> the generally accepted definition, but apparently I was wrong.
I can't ever remember disagreeing with Matt before, so I might be skating on
very thin ice here, but my understanding is the same as Nik's.  I would
consider "the' to be a clitic.

David