We are happy to announce a talk by Klaus von Heusinger (Cologne) in the Semantics Colloquium.
The talk will take place on campus in IG 4.301.
Title: Weak and strong definite articles in German and Evidentiality
Date: January 26
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm ct
Abstract:
German has a strong and a weak form of the definite article, which can be distinguished by their ability to merge with certain prepositions (strong: zu dem, weak: zum). The strong or full form is used in anaphoric and familiar contexts, and the weak or reduced form is used in contexts with a uniqueness condition (Ebert 1971, Schwarz 2009). The choice of one form in bridging contexts depends on the type of bridging: part-whole bridging contexts favor the weak form, and producer-product bridging prefer the strong form. We argue that the choice of the article form also depends on the way the speaker and hearer perceive the referent: if the referent is visible and touchable, the weak form is enhanced, while a less direct experience, say...