>
> Hi, David.
>
> Do please clarify a few things for me in this most interesting pattern!
>
> Q1. In what sense are these "stages" if 5 (as well as 2) can precede 3?
>
> Q2. Please flesh out the meaning of these stages. Eg -
> Q2a. Does "demonstrative" mean a "demonstrative adjective"?
>
> Q2b. Does "definite article" in stage 2 imply the existence of
> an "indefinite article"; or perhaps only of a definiteness contrast, in
> which
> the definite state is marked by the presence of the definite particle?
>
> Q2c. What is a "noun marker" - a morpheme, inflection, clitic
> ...?
>
> Q2d. Is there any known example of a living language currently
> _in
> transition_ between two (or more) of these stages?
>
> Thanks!
>
> In hope,
> Yahya
>
> Yahya Abdal-Aziz
> Share my music, paintings, equation art, and thoughts on books, online at
> eSnips:
>
http://www.eSnips.com/user/Yahya
>