2 ms·
Technically, Chinese doesn't have words for "a" or "the". It's only in English and other Western languages that the distinction makes sense.
by jhbadger 4y ago
Technically, Chinese doesn't have words for "a" or "the". It's only in English and other Western languages that the distinction makes sense.
- thaumasiotes 4y agoThe distinction makes sense everywhere, but it's not tracked in Chinese (as in many other languages). It's still possible to look at a Chinese text and determine accurately whether an English translation should mark definiteness or indefiniteness on particular nouns. That wouldn't be possible if the distinction didn't make sense.