The Article in Italian and the Flexive Languages

Abstract

In this study, we primarily outline from a comparative point of view the concept of the inception and the evolutionary dynamics of the definite article in the Italian language as well as its main traits and types compared to the flexive languages, which indicate the syntactic function of words through the use of cases. Special attention is paid to the Slavic languages from the Balkan area, which, in addition to their article having a category, are characterized by several distinguishing traits. During translation, we put extra emphasis on the sensitive aspect related to an important semantic function of the definite article in the Italian language, especially in situations when it accompanies a specific group of adjectives that change their meaning depending on whether they occupy a prenominal or postnominal position. In the final part of our study, we pointed out the necessity of a more complex examination of the issue related to the morphological category of the article in the nominal syntagm in the Italian language from both the syntactic and the pragmatic point of view.