Dissertation (DLitt)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

This study presents a pragmatic approach to the analysis of definiteness. The expression of definiteness in Korean is analyzed as controlled by the pragmatic motivation to differentiate nouns with respect to their topical relevance and importance.The primary claim of this study is that grammar utilizes formal marking systems not only for making semantic contrasts but also for producing pragmatic distinctions. As an illustration of this claim, the marking vs. lack of marking that determine pragmatic status in Korean is examined, and it is argued that the lack of marking indicates the relative lack of special significance of a given referent as a specific individual, while overt marking indicates the relatively higher significance of an intended referent as a specific individual.Definiteness is shown to be non-distinctive and non-categorical in nature, with five expressions of definiteness coding six degrees of definiteness in a definiteness continuum. This is illustrated in the following diagram:Definiteness ContinuumBare NP ---- com ---- etten ---- han ---- ku ---- Bare NPleastmostThe bare NP to the left comprises nonunique common nouns and the one to the right unique common nouns and proper nouns. In each case, the bare form is viewed as representing the referent in its most general use.It is also shown that definiteness and indefiniteness can coincide in the sense that semantically indefinite NPs can be marked formally as definite in certain contexts. This is explained motivated by the pragmatic need for upgrading the degree of definiteness in order to present it as a more prominent or salient entity. With cases in which both semantically definite referents and semantically indefinite referents are formally presented in the same bare NP form as crucial evidence, it is suggested that the realization and expression of definiteness is motivated only when pragmatic significance requires such a distinction. The study concludes that marking and lack of marking of definiteness in Korean does in fact signal the relative pragmatic importance of the referent in the development of the discourse. / Department of English

Teilw. zugl.: Diss., 2006. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Definiteness is generally viewed as a morpho-syntactic category. It is grammatically marked by articles in languages such as English, but not all languages have a formal grammatical encoding for this category. The nominal preprefix (NPP) in languages such as Dzamba is not an equivalent to the English article system; however, it displays a close association with definiteness. Northern Sotho is non-articled, and it does not possess the NPP in its grammatical system. As a grammatical category, definiteness is the grammaticalisation of a pragmatic category of identifiability, which is present in all languages. Identifiability, as a means of referent tracing, plays a vital role in communication. The main aim of this study is to investigate how the phenomenon of definiteness manifests itself in Northern Sotho. The introductory chapter describes the purpose and aim of the study, its theoretical approach and methodology, as well as its organisation. The second chapter presents an overview of the previous major works on definiteness. It begins with the literature on the category in general, and moves on to the literature on definiteness in African Languages. These previous studies agree on the central issues of this category. The speaker utters a definite noun phrase (NP) if he presupposes that the addressee will be in a position to locate and to identify the referent of the NP uniquely or inclusively. Chapter 3 examines noun phrases that are regarded as definite in Northern Sotho; and the factors that contribute to such a reading. Pragmatic factors, i.e. existential presupposition, transparent contexts and anaphoric reference make major contributions to the interpretation of a noun phrase as definite. Nominal determiners and quantifiers whose semantic content suggests locatability, uniqueness and/or inclusiveness give a noun phrase definite reference. Such determiners and quantifiers include the demonstrative, possessive with locative gona/ntshe, the universal quantifier, etc. Proper names and pronouns have unique reference. Chapter 4 investigates indefinite noun phrases in Northern Sotho. Bare noun phrases in this language such as mang (who), lefeela (nothing) and aretse (unknown thing/place) are incompatible with definiteness. Their semantic content suggests that their referent cannot or should not be uniquely identified. Nominal modifiers such as -ngwe (another/different/ a certain), -fe (who/which) and šele (another/different/strange) are also incompatible with unique identifiabilty and they, therefore, accord a noun phrase indefinite reference. Nouns with generic interpretation and nouns in idioms do not uniquely refer to particular individuals. Chapter 5 looks into the ambiguity of bare noun phrases in Northern Sotho. It examines such a phrase in the subject position, the object position and the complement position of prepositional phrases. Nominal modifiers such as the adjective, the relative and the possessive are incorporated into noun phrases to see how they affect the reading. The question of subject inversion (SI) is also investigated. Lastly opaque contexts are discussed, and the ambiguity created by opacity-creating operators is examined. The final chapter of the study presents the main findings.