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From: mcv@inter.NL.net (Miguel Carrasquer)
Subject: Re: articles: Germanic and Romance
Message-ID: <CxGtyq.LEo@inter.NL.net>
Keywords: articles, language history, Germanic, Romance
Organization: /etc/organization
References: <1704B576D.FEN00RT1@unccvm.uncc.edu>
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 1994 16:32:49 GMT
Lines: 22

In article <1704B576D.FEN00RT1@unccvm.uncc.edu>,
Ralf Thiede <FEN00RT1@unccvm.uncc.edu> wrote:
> 
>I have a short question about the assumed influence of Germanic
>language contact with Romance languages in regard to articles.
> [...]

I have not studied the subject, but it seems doubtful to me that
the Romance article was derived from contact with Germanic
languages.  The Gothic translation of the Bible sometimes uses
demonstrative pronouns to render the Greek article, just like
the Itala and Vulgata occasionally use `ipse' and `ille' to do
the same.  It seems Latin and Gothic were in the same transitional
phase with regards to the article at approximately the same time.

For Latin, the fact that Classical Greek had an article would seem
much more significant, if we need assume any foreign influence at all.

-- 
Miguel Carrasquer         ____________________  ~~~
Amsterdam                [                  ||]~  
mcv@inter.NL.net         ce .sig n'est pas une .cig 
