THE FULL DEFINITE ARTICLE IN MODERN BULGARIAN REVISITED Cover Image

THE FULL DEFINITE ARTICLE IN MODERN BULGARIAN REVISITED
THE FULL DEFINITE ARTICLE IN MODERN BULGARIAN REVISITED

Author(s): Ellie Boyadzhieva
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: ЮГОЗАПАДЕН УНИВЕРСИТЕТ »НЕОФИТ РИЛСКИ«
Keywords: article(s); language change; codification; natural language; standard language;

Summary/Abstract: The origins and the embedding of the full and the shortened article in Modern Bulgarian leading to a range of socio-linguistic consequences has been in the focus of interest for a number of Bulgarian linguists recently. The discussion has been gaining momentum again resulting in a number of publications that generated a wide public response. The present paper puts to the fore the problem of the origins of the two forms of the definite article for masculine gender singular in Modern Bulgarian followed by an overview of the codification processes which has lead to the present dichotomy ascribing different meanings to the two elements of the opposition, which in turn governs their use in Standard Bulgarian. The analysis based on the observations of their use in both the spoken and the spontaneous written language of the Bulgarian native-speakers results in the conclusion that absolutely naturally Bulgarian tends to generalize the use of the shortened article as means of marking the category of definiteness. The systemic avoidance of the use of the full article both in speech and written communication is interpreted as a striving to liberate the language system from the redundant case meaning, on the one hand, and as a natural language choice of the native-speakers in congruence with the historical principle of language economy, on the other.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 29-38
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: English