Known / Specific / General Reference
Is it known, new, specific, or general?
의미
How the speaker expects the listener to identify a participant: new, known, specific, nonspecific, generic, unique, or shared.
알아보는 방법
Ask whether the listener already knows which thing is meant.
예시
a|the|this|any|some|dogs
a dog|the dog|dogs in general|this book
I saw a dog, then the dog ran away.
Visual guide
Reference choice new thing -> a dog known thing -> the dog pointed thing -> this book any one -> any dog whole kind -> dogs
Marking options English: article a dog / the dog Other languages may use: demonstrative: this dog word order or case context only Same job: identify referent
언어별 보기
모국어에서는
Korean has no articles, so known, specific, or generic reference is inferred from context, demonstratives, and topic marking.
그 책 읽었어요?
Did you read that book?
학습 언어에서는
Definiteness is central: ال, nunation, iḍāfa and context all affect reference.
قرأتُ كتابًا. الكتابُ مفيد.
I read a book. The book is useful.
Learners may treat ال like English “the” and miss generic or iḍāfa definiteness.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.