Definiteness in Bulgarian

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In its evolution from a synthetic to an analytic language, Bulgarian developed a grammaticalized category of definiteness. This study explores this transition by comparing early Modern Bulgarian texts with contemporary dialect and standard data. It focuses on various nominal structures led by nouns or pronouns, requiring a clear distinction between form and content. A default inheritance model of definiteness is adopted for comprehensive classification and tagging of nominal structures, enabling quantitative analysis from a current native-speaker perspective. Utilizing an S-curve model of language change, the research shows that overt markers of definiteness emerged first for identifiability-based definites, followed by inclusiveness-based definites, quantitative generics, and unique referents. Indefiniteness markers then developed, distinguishing indefinites from non-specifics and typifying generics. This progression was influenced by variables like person, animacy, gender, number, and noun class, particularly in contexts where definiteness interacted with possessivity. The analysis indicates that a three-dimensional model is necessary to fully account for language change. Additionally, it reveals continuity between the early Slavic definiteness marker (long-form adjectives) and the Modern Bulgarian article, highlighting the influence of the Balkan Sprachbund in the grammaticalization of Bulgarian definiteness.