artikeller

Artikler, or artikler in many Nordic and related languages, are a class of words that accompany nouns to express reference, definiteness, and sometimes number. They are typically classified as determiners and can appear as separate words or as affixes attached to the noun.

The basic distinction is between definite and indefinite articles. Indefinite articles mark non-specific reference (a cat, an idea), while definite articles indicate a specific, identifiable referent (the cat, the idea). Some languages also have additional article-like forms, such as partitive or distributive articles, depending on the discourse context.

There is substantial variation in how languages realize articles. In English, articles are separate words that precede the noun. In many Scandinavian languages, including Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish, the definite article can appear as an attachment to the noun (a book -> boka, den boka; or the book with corresponding forms in plural). In German, articles inflect for gender, number, and case (der/die/das, ein/eine, etc.) and must agree with the noun. Romance languages typically have a complex system of gendered definite and indefinite articles (el/la/los/las in Spanish, le/la/les in French, il/la/i/le in Italian). Some languages, such as Russian and Finnish, do not have articles at all and rely on word order, demonstratives, or context to express definiteness.

In use, artikler help constrain reference in noun phrases and aid in signaling discourse structure. They interact with numerals, adjectives, and noun class, and their presence or absence can influence meaning and readability across languages.