Definite expressions

Definite expressions encode some semantic meaning in their nominal elements. For example, as mentioned above, book in the definite expression the book relates to whatever mental representation you have for the concept of a “book”. Moreover, Frege ([1892]1952) noted that a definite expression not only denotes something but also implies that it exists (we will pick up on this in our discussion of presuppositions). Russell (1905), however, argued that the key issue with expressions such as the book is not just that they imply existence but that generally they indicate uniqueness (a particular book, in our example). For Russell, definite expressions do not refer directly to something; it is simply a matter of finding a true match between the semantic descriptive content of the expression and any candidates for a match in the world. Others (such as Strawson 1950) argue, from a more pragmatic perspective, that it all depends on the use of the expression in context. For example, the semantics of the book in a de-contextualized sentence such as pass the book may signal that a unique book is involved, but you are unlikely to know exactly which book is being referred to. In contrast, if somebody arrived in the room where you are right now and said the same to you, you may be led into thinking not only that a unique book is involved but also that they refer to any book you are now reading. And, if they arrived when you were reading in bed, you might think that they refer to your bedtime novel. A starting point is to say that definite expressions are primarily used to invite the participant(s) to identify a particular referent from a specific context which is assumed to be shared by the interlocutors (we air this issue further below).

There are various ways in which languages can signal definiteness. The paradigm method in English is the definite article the, the most frequent word in written and spoken English (Leech et al. 2001: 181 and 144). Like other noun phrase determiners, such as possessive determiner pronouns (e.g. my/your/our/their book), demonstratives (e.g. this/that book), or s-genitives (e.g. Jonathan’s book), definite articles “determine” the definiteness of the noun phrase. Compare the sentences in [2.3]:

You are likely to interpret (a) as referring to any book you are currently reading (apologies for the immodesty!). But with (b), it could be about any book you are currently reading (this book, other course books, the novel you read when you go to bed, etc.). (b) contains the indefinite article a, contrasting with the definite article the. Apart from noun phrases with determiners, pronouns (e.g. I, you, she, it) can express definiteness in English, as can proper nouns, a topic we will discuss below.