Две (не)възможни тези, свързани с определеността
Two (im)possible theses on definiteness

Summary/Abstract: The article presents two unconventional claims, concerning the cognitive features of definite noun phrases. These claims pertain to the phenomena of determinacy, specificity and genericity, which are often used in an inconsistent and contradictory manner in studies of Bulgarian and other languages. The first claim refers to the relationship between two oppositions: definiteness ~ indefiniteness and specificity – non-specificity. It states that definite noun phrases, like indefinite ones, can express both specificity and non-specificity. The second claim refers to the relationship between the opposition definiteness ~ indefiniteness and genericity. Most often, the opposition is applied to non-generic noun phrases and genericity is interpreted as semantic definiteness. The paper posits that genericity, like non-genericity, is realized in language in the form of definite and indefinite noun phrases.

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