From Noun to Name: On Definiteness Marking in Modern Martinikè

This chapter discusses two functional morphemes written l(a)- and le and pronounced [l(a)] and [le] which have developed in Modern Martinike as definiteness markers of a sort, alongside the better known enclitic definite determiner. It summarises Lobner's distinction between semantic and pragmatic definiteness. The chapter argues that the phrasal enclitic determiner must be semantically characterised as a pragmatic definiteness marker, in Lobner's sense. It presents the morphological, distributional and semantic properties of l(a)- N and le +NP. The chapter recapitulates and argues that l(a)- N and le +NP in Martinike instantiate a class of determiner phrases (DPs) characterised semantically as a subtype of semantic definites denoting individual concepts, and syntactically, by the occurrence of a special functional projection distinct from noun phrase (NP). It concludes that the properties brought out for la -N and le +NP in Martinike lead us to identify l(a)- and le as markers of semantic definiteness, in Lobner's sense. Keywords: determiner phrases (DPs); enclitic definite determiner; Lobner's sense; Modern Martinike; noun phrase (NP); pragmatic definiteness; semantic definiteness