Armeniaca International Journal of Armenian Studies

Journal | Armeniaca
Journal issue | 1 | 2022
Research Article | The Forms of the Indefinite Article in Eastern Armenian

The Forms of the Indefinite Article in Eastern Armenian

Pre-Modern, Early and Colloquial Eastern Armenian Sources

Abstract

This paper studies the formal distinction of the indefinite article from the quantifier ‘one’ in Early and pre-Modern Armenian texts by three 18‑19th century authors as well as in a colloquial Modern Eastern Armenian dialogue. The key question is whether these sources use the same forms for both functions. The paper gives typological, diachronic, and areal perspectives to the analysis of non-standard data rarely included in discussions of the historical grammar of Armenian. It also touches upon some general issues of grammaticalization of the forms of ‘one’ as an indefinite article and the use of numeral classifiers in colloquial Eastern Armenian.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Dec. 20, 2021 | Accepted: March 23, 2022 | Published Oct. 28, 2022 | Language: en

Keywords Eastern ArmenianGilanentzHistorical grammarIndefinite articleNumeral ‘one’ErewantsiColloquial Eastern ArmenianAbovyanPre-Modern Armenian


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