Latviešu valodas noteikto un nenoteikto adjektīvu opozīcija: sintakse un semantika

ENThis article examines an opposition that would, at first sight, seem to correspond ideally to the notion of a linguistic opposition as conceived by the structuralists, viz. that of the definite and indefinite forms of the adjective in Latvian. It is binary, asymmetric and seemingly based on one invariant, viz. semantic definiteness (identifiability of the referent by the addressee of the utterance). In the article a number of less straightforward uses of the definite forms are discussed – basically instances where these forms are used beyond the domain of proper semantic definiteness. It is thus established that the contrast of adjectival forms can be a based on a whole array of features, partly semantic but partly also purely syntactic. It is difficult to represent a category of this type in the form of a classical binary category, but it can more successfully be represented with the aid of the semantic map method.