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Celabrian: Difference between revisions
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→Definiteness
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There are three levels of definiteness in Celabrian: | There are three levels of definiteness in Celabrian: | ||
*Definite: Something known to both speaker and listener, that | *Definite: Something specific that is known to both the speaker and listener, that has been previously mentioned, or that is uniquely specified. Equivalent to English "the" in "I saw '''the''' car." | ||
*Semidefinite: Something specific that is identifiable by the speaker but not the listener. Equivalent to English "a" in "I saw '''a''' car." | *Semidefinite: Something specific that is identifiable by the speaker but not the listener or that has not been previously mentioned. Equivalent to English "a" in "I saw '''a''' car." | ||
*Indefinite: Refers non-specifically to a member of a class. Equivalent to English "a" in "I need '''a''' car." | *Indefinite: Refers non-specifically to a member of a class. Equivalent to English "a" in "I need '''a''' car." | ||
Nouns unmarked for definiteness are semidefinite by default. The definite article is ''-<u>ə</u>n'' (added before case endings). | Nouns unmarked for definiteness are semidefinite by default. The definite article is ''-<u>ə</u>n'' (added before case endings). | ||
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! Definite | ! Definite | ||
| Something known to both speaker and listener, that | | Something specific that is known to both speaker and listener, that has been previously mentioned, or that is uniquely specified. || rowspan="2" | – || colspan="3" | -<u>ə</u>n | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Semidefinite | ! Semidefinite | ||