Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Nonspecificity

Nonspecificity

Nonspecificity is a kind of definiteness, expressed by an interpretation of or grammatical marking on a noun or noun phrase, indicating that the speaker presumably does not know the identity of the referent(s).

(English)

The following sentence has the interpretation that the speaker does not have a particular Norwegian in mind:

  • Minna wants to meet a Norwegian.

  • Page/s: 203–204
    Source: Hawkins, J. 1978

    Hawkins, John A. 1978.Definiteness and indefiniteness: A study in reference and grammaticality prediction. London: Croom Helm.

    Page/s: 179
    Source: Anderson, S. 1985

    Anderson, Stephen R. 1985. "Inflectional morphology." In Shopen 1985d

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    Date of creation
    05-Ago-2021
    Accepted term
    05-Ago-2021
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