On the development of definiteness markers in Scandinavian

Abstract

This paper deals with the development of three different definiteness markers in Old Scandinavian: the definite suffix-inn and the pre-adjectival articles (h)inn and sá/þen. It is argued that only the development of the definite suffix followed the normal path of gram-maticalization of definite articles. From the earliest Scandinavian texts, the runic inscrip-tions, follows that the future articles (h)inn and sá/þen started as formal elements pre-ceding weakly inflected adjectives. They appear in this function very early, and, seeming-ly, more or less obligatorily so from the beginning. On this ground, earlier analyses of the definite markers and the noun phrase in Old Norse are rejected. Further, the role of the regional variation in Scandinavia is highlighted in relation to the competition between the two free articles. 1.

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