Re: Probability of Article Replacement?

Finnish uses the partitive case for indefinite objects, if my memory hasn't
misled me.

Wesley Parish

On Wednesday 26 February 2003 10:36 pm, you wrote:
> Staving Joe:
> >Essential? Articles serve no essential purpose in a language.  They
> > clarify, but a distinction is not neccesary.
>
> Are there any languages that mark a definite/indefinite distinction by
> means other than articles? I've considered using inflections or word order
> to mark it in various conlangs. I suppose there's the wa/ga distinction in
> Japanese, but that's restricting a particular grammatical role (the topic)
> to definite things, rather than marking definitiveness as such.
>
> Pete Bleackley
--
Mau e ki, "He aha te mea nui?"
You ask, "What is the most important thing?"
Maku e ki, "He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
I reply, "It is people, it is people, it is people."