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Re: Probability of Article Replacement?

From:Stephen Mulraney <ataltanie@...>
Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2003, 1:24
On Tue, 25 Feb 2003 14:32:56 -0600
Nik Taylor <yonjuuni@...> wrote:

> Andreas Johansson wrote: > > How probable is it for a language that has a definite article to replace it > > with a form derived from a demonstrative? Are any such examples known from > > real-world languages? > > Colloquial English sometimes uses "that" and "this" almost like > articles; with "that" being somewhat like "the" and "this" being > somewhat like "a". For example: > > I met this guy on the street the other day (= I met a guy ...)
There's more to it than that; "Describing Morphosyntax" at one point (p266) mentions how some languages mark "discourse referentiality", which is when a newly-introduced item in discourse is "destined to feature" in the narrative. He then goes on to reference Wright and Givon (1987), saying that they "have shown that the demonstrative _this_ in spoken English is, among other things, an indicator of discourse referentiality. In spoken narratives, items introduced with _this_ are much more likely to persist, i.e., be mentioned repeatedly, than are items introduced with either _the_ or _a_ ..."
> Have you ever seen that show "Historical Blunders"? (= the show) > > In fact, there's a show on TV called "That 70's Show". :-) > > Anyways, I could imagine, over time, "that" and "this" becoming true > demonstratives, eventually replacing "the" and "a". > > Also, in Modern French, "ce" has developed some article-like functions, > with "le" starting to develop into a kind of "default article".
Uh oh... not that flamewar again :) s. ---- C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas l'Informatique. w:ataltane.net~ || Bosquet, on seeing the IBM 4341 Stephen Mulraney~ e::ataltane at ataltane dot net~

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Nik Taylor <yonjuuni@...>