The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic
The first appearance of the emphatic demonstratives pA/tA/nA in northern Egyptian letters of the 6th Dynasty and their absence from southern Egyptian sources indicates the growing difference between the language variants spoken in these broadly defined regions. Originating from the Old Egyptian pron...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing
2014-12-01
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| Series: | Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.akademicka.pl/saac/article/view/3090 |
| _version_ | 1819291026572967936 |
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| author | Maxim Kupreyev |
| author_facet | Maxim Kupreyev |
| author_sort | Maxim Kupreyev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The first appearance of the emphatic demonstratives pA/tA/nA in northern Egyptian letters of the 6th Dynasty and their absence from southern Egyptian sources indicates the growing difference between the language variants spoken in these broadly defined regions. Originating from the Old Egyptian pronominal stems p-/t-/n-, the use of these new demonstratives expands rapidly during the Middle Kingdom. In their weak form as definite articles, they indicate that a noun is knownin discourse and thus signal a hitherto hidden grammatical category – definiteness. Once the definite article is grammaticalised and starts to be used with a priori definite nouns such as pA nTr wa ‘the sole god’ or pA HqA ‘the ruler’ (18th Dynasty), the indefinite article appears. The further development in Demotic and Coptic shows that the article was on the way to becoming a noun marker. When attached to a relative phrase, it created a new noun, which could be further determined (xenpetnanouf ‘some good deeds’, ppetouaab ‘the saint’). The following article traces the regional origins of the definite article as well as the main principles governing their development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:32:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2d7d263a124842c0aa12b9155ed5a1c4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1899-1548 2449-867X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T03:32:06Z |
| publishDate | 2014-12-01 |
| publisher | Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization |
| spelling | doaj.art-2d7d263a124842c0aa12b9155ed5a1c42022-12-21T17:17:10ZengKsiegarnia Akademicka PublishingStudies in Ancient Art and Civilization1899-15482449-867X2014-12-011810.12797/SAAC.18.2014.18.14The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-CopticMaxim Kupreyev0Free University of Berlin, GermanyThe first appearance of the emphatic demonstratives pA/tA/nA in northern Egyptian letters of the 6th Dynasty and their absence from southern Egyptian sources indicates the growing difference between the language variants spoken in these broadly defined regions. Originating from the Old Egyptian pronominal stems p-/t-/n-, the use of these new demonstratives expands rapidly during the Middle Kingdom. In their weak form as definite articles, they indicate that a noun is knownin discourse and thus signal a hitherto hidden grammatical category – definiteness. Once the definite article is grammaticalised and starts to be used with a priori definite nouns such as pA nTr wa ‘the sole god’ or pA HqA ‘the ruler’ (18th Dynasty), the indefinite article appears. The further development in Demotic and Coptic shows that the article was on the way to becoming a noun marker. When attached to a relative phrase, it created a new noun, which could be further determined (xenpetnanouf ‘some good deeds’, ppetouaab ‘the saint’). The following article traces the regional origins of the definite article as well as the main principles governing their development.https://journals.akademicka.pl/saac/article/view/3090definitenessdefiniteindefinite and zero articlenoun categoriesspecific and generic nounsEgyptian-Coptic |
| spellingShingle | Maxim Kupreyev The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization definiteness definite indefinite and zero article noun categories specific and generic nouns Egyptian-Coptic |
| title | The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic |
| title_full | The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic |
| title_fullStr | The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic |
| title_short | The Origins and Development of the Definite Article in Egyptian-Coptic |
| title_sort | origins and development of the definite article in egyptian coptic |
| topic | definiteness definite indefinite and zero article noun categories specific and generic nouns Egyptian-Coptic |
| url | https://journals.akademicka.pl/saac/article/view/3090 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maximkupreyev theoriginsanddevelopmentofthedefinitearticleinegyptiancoptic AT maximkupreyev originsanddevelopmentofthedefinitearticleinegyptiancoptic |