The division of labour between the Basque articles in the indefinite domain

The usage of the Basque definite and indefinite articles differs significantly from their Romance counterparts. While the definite article is used as a default article for NPs without another determiner, the exact function of the indefinite article in this system has remained somewhat unclear, altho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fontes linguae vasconum no. 137; pp. 39 - 67
Main Author: Strauss, Silvie
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Pamplona Gobierno de Navarra, Fondo de Publicaciones 01.01.2024
Gobierno de Navarra
Subjects:
bare nouns
Basque people
definiteness
discourse prominence
Division of labor
Identity formation
Reference (Semantic)
specificity
ISSN:0046-435X, 2530-5832
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The usage of the Basque definite and indefinite articles differs significantly from their Romance counterparts. While the definite article is used as a default article for NPs without another determiner, the exact function of the indefinite article in this system has remained somewhat unclear, although specificity has been brought up as a factor. A comparison with Eastern Armenian, which has a threefold definiteness/specificity distinction, in three parallel texts shows that the use of the indefinite article in Basque follows two different systems in different varieties: in the West it is based on discourse prominence and in the East on individuation.
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ISSN:0046-435X
2530-5832
DOI:10.35462/flv137.2