This 1991 book proposes a theory of definiteness in language. It argues that definiteness should be viewed as a cover-term comprising three basic oppositions within the areas of familiarity (locatability), quantity (inclusiveness) and generality (extensivity). Further, the oppositions are not discrete but scalar, and lend themselves to characterization in terms of fuzzy theory. Dr Chesterman examines these themes, firstly by drawing on several traditions of research on the rich system of articles in English, and then by looking at how the concept of definiteness is realized in Finnish, a language which has no articles and typically leaves definiteness to be inferred by a variety of means. On Definiteness provides a thorough and sensitive discussion of an intricate semantic problem. It highlights two important theoretical points: the fuzziness of the linguistic concept of definiteness and the differences between languages in the way in which they draw the line between syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
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1. Introduction; 2. English articles: the research traditions; 3. English article usage; 4. A unified description of the English articles; 5. Finnish: no articles; 6. Finnish spesies; 7. The status of definiteness in Finnish; 8. English and Finnish contrasted; 9. Wider perspectives; References; Indexes.
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This 1991 book proposes a new theory of definiteness in language.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780521391948
Publisert
1991-01-10
Utgiver
Vendor
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
520 gr
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Dybde
17 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
236

Forfatter