3 ms·
I think that lack of an article 'the' is typical of native speakers of Slavic languages?
by hdfbdtbcdg 7y ago
I think that lack of an article 'the' is typical of native speakers of Slavic languages?
- vkou 7y agoIt is. It took my father ~20 years of working in an English-speaking country to be consistent with his usage of that article.
- asveikau 7y agoSlavs aren't the only ones though! Romance languages, while not completely lacking articles like Slavic ones, have slightly different requirements for articles. (They tend to use them more for abstract concepts, eg. "the reality" when we would say "reality", or "the <noun>(s)" for describing general behavior/attributes of that noun -- this difference may make speakers over-correct by using articles less in English)
- DFHippie 7y agoCertain nouns are "inherently definite" -- names of people or places, for example, or abstractions or things which are inherently unique. Languages which mark definiteness often differ as to whether these inherently definite nouns, or which ones of them, should be marked as such. English generally treats them like proper names -- no article, definite or indefinite. Romance languages more often require the definite article. These are just two different ways of indicating the same underlying category.