Re a Possibility to Use the Stem-Building Suffix -Ein- in the Function of the Definite Article in the Gothic Language
The article analyses a possibility to use the stem-building suffix -ein- in the function of the definite article in the gothic language. This suffix is based on the Indo-European pronominal root that used to have a demonstrative meaning (Jener-Deixis). Further use of the suffix -n- as a marker of relation to something resulted in its development into a marker of a constant, typical feature of a thing or a being that made them definite. The meaning of definiteness expressed by the suffix is revealed if one compares the use of abstract nouns derived from the same root and belonging to different declension types in the gothic language.
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Issue: 1, 2004
Series of issue: Humanities (Philology)
Rubric: Study of Germanic and Siberian Languages
Pages: 50 — 54
Downloads: 983