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Universal 1724:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1724:

Original
Nominally used demonstratives never occur with the non-bound definite article.
Standardized
When a demonstrative is used nominally (forming an NP of its own, rather than being a determiner), it does not occur with a non-bound definite article.
Keywords
definite article, demonstrative, pronoun
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute?
Basis
languages surveyed in Moravcsik 1994b, including Hungarian, Mari (both Finno-Ugric), Albanian (Albanian, IE), Classical and Modern Greek (Greek, IE), English, German, Swedish, Dutch, Frisian, Old Icelandic (all Germanic, IE), Welsh, Breton, Manx (all Celtic, IE), Spanish, Rumanian, Romantsch, Latin, Sardinian, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, Italian, Occitan (all Romance, IE), Macedonian (Slavic, IE), Abkhaz (NW Caucasian), Turkish (Turkic, Altaic), Maltese (Semitic, Afro-Asiatic), Basque (isolate), Jicaltepec Mixtec (Oto-Manguean), Samoan (Oceanic, Eastern Malayo-Polynesian), Berbice Dutch Creole, Toba (Western Malayo-Polynesian), Chantyal (?)
Source
Moravcsik 1994b
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP
    1. May 2020

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