Re: CHAT: Definite/Indefinite Article Distinction
| From: | Jan van Steenbergen <ijzeren_jan@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Saturday, September 7, 2002, 16:15 |
|---|
--- John Cowan wrote:
> Philip Newton scripsit:
>
> > That reminds me... English is the only language I know (though that's
> > not saying much on a global scale) where the indefinite article "a, an"
> > is distinct from the numeral "one".
> In Dutch likewise "en mens" is "a person", but "een mens" is "one person".
No, that's incorrect. In both cases one writes "een mens" ("en" has only one
meaning: "and"). However, there is a difference in pronunciation: the numerals
is pronounced [ejn], the article [@n].
When in written Dutch the fact needs to be stressed that it sounds like the
numeral and not like the article, this is usually done by adding acutes: "één".
> In editions of Wittgenstein, "ein" is written with an e-acute when it means
> "one".
Dutch influence, I suppose ... :)
Jan
=====
"Originality is the art of concealing your source." - Franklin P. Jones
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com
Replies