Ad hoc Taxonomies: A Baltic Parallel to the Scandinavian Absolute Positives

Axel Holvoet,Birutė Spraunienė

doi:10.15388/scandinavisticavilnensis.2014.9.5

Abstract

The article deals with the extension of definite markers into the domain of indefinite NPs in Scandinavian and Baltic. Definite articles evolving further down the grammaticalization path typically become markers of specificity (Greenberg 1978, Himmelmann 1998), but the development of definite markers in Baltic and Scandinavian languages (formally divergent as Baltic uses definite adjectives as the principal grammatical means of marking definiteness whereas Scandinavian employs definite articles for this purpose) has taken a different direction. After a brief discussion of the different types of extension of definite markers beyond their core domain in Baltic and Scandinavian, we focus on a specific construction in Scandinavian, the so-called ‘absolute positives’. We suggest that this construction is parallelled by certain Latvian constructions with definite adjectives, the effect being, in both cases, that of evoking ad hoc taxonomies. Finally, we present some considerations on the possible origin of the constructions discussed.

Highlights

In a seminal paper dating from 1978 Greenberg describes the gradual changes that occur in the distribution and semantics of definite markers in languages: whereas initially they are restricted to of NPs with definite reference, they may gradually gain access to more and more usage contexts, including those which normally are not associated with prototypical definiteness
At some point of diachronic development, the extension of a definite marker into the domain of indefinite NPs may occur. This extension may consist in a definite article developing into a marker of specificity, called ‘specific article’ (Greenberg 1978, Himmelmann 1998)
If a combination of adjective and noun does not form a unitary concept referring to a more or less established kind or type of individuals, the possibility of using definite adjectives in generic and indefinite contexts is lost in Lithuanian, cf.: (3)

Summary

Introduction

In a seminal paper dating from 1978 Greenberg describes the gradual changes that occur in the distribution and semantics of definite markers in languages: whereas initially they are restricted to (some types) of NPs with definite reference, they may gradually gain access to more and more usage contexts, including those which normally are not associated with prototypical definiteness. The indefinite specific use of definite adjectives is not found, as a distinct type, in Baltic languages (Holvoet, Spraunienė 2012).

Results

Conclusion