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OCR
HUNGARIAN-ENGLISH LINGUISTIC CONTRASTS. A PRACTICAL APPROACH In addition to specific and generic reference, a(n) may have unspecific reference. In the case of unspecific reference the noun phrase does not refer to a particular thing or person, but to any member of a class of things or persons. This is similar to generic reference (see below), but it is not quite the same. Compare: I have a steady girl. I need a steady girl. When a(n) is used in a generic sense (generic reference), we talk about things or persons in general. In this case, the article indicates that the noun may refer to any member of the class: A cat has nine lives. A fairy story is a story that prepares children to read newspapers. A plough is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil. The indefinite article is also used in a weakened numerical meaning. This is matched by a similar use of the Hungarian indefinite article: Egy fillérem sincs. — I haven't got a penny. While English and Hungarian are congruent with respect to the specific meaning of their indefinite articles, they are divergent with respect to generic meaning: A horse is a beautiful animal. — "Egy ló szép állat. The English indefinite article regularly corresponds to the Hungarian definite article in definitions or in noun phrases where the endorsing item olyan is used: A horse is an animal that has four legs. — A ló olyan állat, amelynek négy lába van. The only solution is an agreement that - Az egyetlen megoldas olyan is accepted by all those concerned. egyezmeny, amelyet minden erdekelt fel elfogad. It is important to note that countable nouns very rarely occur in the singular in English without an article: they are used with either the definite or the indefinite article. If there is no article in Hungarian, we must decide which article to use: Elment rendőrt keresni, — He went to look for a policeman. Villával egyél. — Eat with a fork. + 74 +
