Book Cover
E-book
Author Lyons, Christopher

Title Definiteness / Christopher Lyons
Published Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1999

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Description 1 online resource (xx, 380 pages) : illustrations
Series Cambridge textbooks in linguistics
Cambridge textbooks in linguistics
Contents Machine generated contents note: 1. Basic observations -- 2. Simple definites and indefinites -- 3. Complex definites and indefinites -- 4. Some semantic and pragmatic distinctions -- 5. Interaction with other grammatical phenomena -- 6. Definiteness effects -- 7. Defining definiteness -- 8. Definiteness and noun phrase structure -- 9. Diachronic aspects
Summary This 1999 textbook investigates definiteness both from a comparative and a theoretical point of view, showing how languages express definiteness and what definiteness is. It surveys a large number of languages to discover the range of variation in relation to definiteness and related grammatical phenomena, such as demonstratives, possessives and personal pronouns. It outlines work done on the nature of definiteness in semantics, pragmatics and syntax, and develops an account on which definiteness is a grammatical category represented in syntax as a functional head (the widely discussed D). Consideration is also given to the origins and evolution of definite articles in the light of the comparative and theoretical findings. Among the claims advanced are that definiteness does not occur in all languages, though the pragmatic concept which it grammaticalizes probably does
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-358) and indexes
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Definiteness (Linguistics)
Grammar, Comparative and general -- Syntax.
Semantics.
Pragmatics.
Semantics
semantics.
pragmatics.
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Grammar & Punctuation.
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Linguistics -- Syntax.
Definiteness (Linguistics)
Grammar, Comparative and general -- Syntax
Pragmatics
Semantics
Definitheit
Linguistik
Taaltypologie.
Grammatica.
Bepaaldheid (taalkunde)
Syntaxe.
Définis.
Pragmatique.
Définition (linguistique)
Sémantique.
Form Electronic book
LC no. 98024724
ISBN 0511009984
9780511009983
051103721X
9780511037214
0511150881
9780511150883
9780521362825
0521362822
9780511605789
0511605781
9786610416554
6610416559
1107111552
9781107111554
1280416556
9781280416552
0511172362
9780511172366
0511310374
9780511310379