Eric Christopherson wrote:
>
> Also, it occurs to me that borrowing *between*
> languages, and pidginization, often blurs definiteness
> distinctions; for example, Arabic nouns in Spanish
> usually end up being borrowed with the definite article
> al-; and French nouns in Chinook Jargon and French-
> based pidgins and creoles often take their le/la/les
> with them. But I see that as a process distinct from
> such a neutralization within *one* language.
There are a lot of French loanwords in Malagasy
which retain the initial French le/la even though
Malagasy has its own definite article:
ny labiera = the beer
--Ph. D.