εmbosì Indefiniteness: A Pragmatic Analysis

Abstract

This analysis broaches the contextual interpretation of indefiniteness in εmbQsì and it aims at providing the promotion and documentation of this language. The study reveals that εmbQsì indefiniteness interplays with the pragmatic tenets of non-identifiability and novelty. It also and mainly reveals that εmbQsì indefinite description has different functions. It first introduces a new entity in the discourse and may have an attributive function when the referent of an entity refers to whoever or whatever fits the descriptive content of the noun phrase. It may also be referential when the speaker first communicates something about the referent and then wants the audience to identify it. εmbQsì indefinite description also assumes a specific function when the speaker refers to a specific entity in his mind without intending the hearer to identify it. Indefiniteness in εmbQsì also plays a descriptive role when the speaker, using a proper name, does not refer to a specific individual, but rather to what that individual describes.