Qs: Definiteness/Specificity in Colloquial Sinhala
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Date: 06-Feb-2008 From: Gavin Austin <gaustin2une.edu.au> Subject: Definiteness/Specificity in Colloquial Sinhala E-mail this message to a friend
Dear Colleagues,
I'd be very appreciative if someone could verify the following data from Colloquial Sinhala. What I'm interested in how 'a dog' in (1) and (2) is marked for definiteness/specificity in this language.
(1) ''I'm looking for a dog. Have you seen him?'' [-def, +spec] Colloquial Sinhala: balla(wa)/*ballek(wa)
(2) ''I'm looking for a dog. I need a new pet.'' [-def, -spec] Colloquial Sinhala: *balla(wa)/ballek(wa)
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