The article function of the demonstrative pronoun totъ in South Russian documents of the 17th century

Abstract

The paper considers one of the functions of the demonstrative pronoun-attribute тотъ (tot) in the South Russian documents of the 17th century. Researchers have repeatedly noted the similarity of this pronoun in some contexts with the definite article in languages where the expression of the definiteness category is mandatory. The purpose of this work is to examine the features and the consistency of the тотъ (tot) use in this function.It was determined that, despite a large number of uses of the demonstrative group with тотъ (tot) to denote the objects already mentioned, in some cases the pronoun is omitted systematically (in the construction “цѣна (tsěna) + Dat.” ; when voivodes or geographical objects are repeatedly mentioned) or unsystematically. Considering that demonstrative nominal groups in their standard function should not be used as a means of naming an already mentioned object, as they distinguish a particular object from the class of similar ones, we may postulate the article function of the demonstrative pronoun-attribute тотъ (tot). However, the inconsistency of its use as a means of expressing definiteness denies the possibility of its grammaticalization and the nascence of a definite article on the basis of тотъ (tot).