Re: Arabic article (was: Corpses)

BP Jonsson wrote:
> Indeed I find it equally odd that speakers
> of French creoles haven't found out that
> the la-/li-/l- at the beginning of most
> of their nouns is actually redundant, unless
> they feel it as a part-of-speech marker.
>
I had a Filipino friend (of upper-class background) who once claimed to
speak Visayan.  I asked for a few words, and got things like "ang lamesa"
for 'table'.  Later, people who actually _knew_ Visayan told me such forms
were strictly for ordering servants around.........