The Status of Determining Elements in Australian Languages
Abstract
Australian languages generally lack a part of speech with typical determiner features such as obligatory use, competition for a specific position in the noun phrase and specialization in this function. This study uses a sample of 100 languages to investigate whether Australian languages can be said to have any kind of determiner system, and if so, what it looks like in structural terms. I show that there is structural evidence for a determiner slot or zone in half of the languages. Parts of speech occurring in these slots/zones are often non-specific, also used in other functions in the NP. This offers an interesting window on the semantics of determiners, as it allows us to contrast determiner uses with non-determiner ones.
Cite this
Dana Louagie (2016). The Status of Determining Elements in Australian Languages. Australian Journal of Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2017.1239524
@article{dana2016the,
title = {The Status of Determining Elements in Australian Languages},
author = {Louagie, Dana},
year = {2016},
journal = {Australian Journal of Linguistics},
doi = {10.1080/07268602.2017.1239524}
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