The grammaticalization of the definite article in German
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Ulrike Demske
Abstract
The present paper looks into the grammaticalization of the definite article in the history of German. Starting with the well-known emergence of the definite article from a demonstrative pronoun over the course of Old High German (750–1050), I will consider the rise of so-called weak definites in Early New High German (1350–1650) as a new piece of evidence for the grammaticalization process. Here, the subclass of possessive weak definites is of particular interest for the grammaticalization of the definite article in German, because of a word order change affecting the position of possessor phrases. As soon as the possessor systematically follows the head noun (except for proper names), we observe three alternatives for the prenominal determiner slot: it may remain empty, or it may be filled either by the indefinite or the definite article in Early New High German. In Present-Day German, the definite article is used in the unmarked case, thus pointing to a second stage in the grammaticalization process of the definite article in German, which has so far not been acknowledged in the literature.
Abstract
The present paper looks into the grammaticalization of the definite article in the history of German. Starting with the well-known emergence of the definite article from a demonstrative pronoun over the course of Old High German (750–1050), I will consider the rise of so-called weak definites in Early New High German (1350–1650) as a new piece of evidence for the grammaticalization process. Here, the subclass of possessive weak definites is of particular interest for the grammaticalization of the definite article in German, because of a word order change affecting the position of possessor phrases. As soon as the possessor systematically follows the head noun (except for proper names), we observe three alternatives for the prenominal determiner slot: it may remain empty, or it may be filled either by the indefinite or the definite article in Early New High German. In Present-Day German, the definite article is used in the unmarked case, thus pointing to a second stage in the grammaticalization process of the definite article in German, which has so far not been acknowledged in the literature.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Section I. “From pragmatic to semantic definiteness”
- A complex grammaticalization scenario for the definite article 17
- The grammaticalization of the definite article in German 43
- What genericity reveals about the establishment of the definite determiner in German 75
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Section II. “Syntactic contexts, cognition and grammaticalization”
- The role of the definite article in the rise of the German Framing Principle 97
- Cliticization of definite articles to prepositions in Middle High German – early stages of grammaticalization? 129
- Absence as evidence 161
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Section III. “From definite into onymic article – and finally onymic classifier”
- The rise of the onymic article in Early New High German 199
- Die Capital – der Astra – das Adler 227
- Index 251
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Section I. “From pragmatic to semantic definiteness”
- A complex grammaticalization scenario for the definite article 17
- The grammaticalization of the definite article in German 43
- What genericity reveals about the establishment of the definite determiner in German 75
-
Section II. “Syntactic contexts, cognition and grammaticalization”
- The role of the definite article in the rise of the German Framing Principle 97
- Cliticization of definite articles to prepositions in Middle High German – early stages of grammaticalization? 129
- Absence as evidence 161
-
Section III. “From definite into onymic article – and finally onymic classifier”
- The rise of the onymic article in Early New High German 199
- Die Capital – der Astra – das Adler 227
- Index 251
