Definiteness Subcategorized in Discourse: Lakhota ku

Abstract

In Lakhota texts we find two definite articles, one of which regularly occurs only in discourse contexts. This one, ku, usually means `the aforementioned' or `the past', but it does not always occur when those meanings are appropriate. This paper concludes from the examination of several texts that while the conditions necessary for ku can be stated succinctly, predicting it is another matter. Several plausible hypotheses are disproved, and a request for additional ideas is extended.

Keywords

• Lakota language-- Definiteness