스페인어 관사 lo의 역할과 쓰임에 관한 연구

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse diverse functions and uses of Spanish article lo. Spanish is the only Romance language which has preserved an neutral and unchangeable article, which is called 'article lo'. Lo can nominalize the adjectives, which, in this way, acquire a meaning equal or similar to that of the neuters of Latin. The nominalization with lo gives abstract character to the adjectives in competition with abstract nouns, etymologically and semantically correlatives. This study is composed of four chapters, an introduction and a conclusion. The first chapter focuses on the difference between 'article lo'(lo esperado) and 'pronoun lo'(lo esperaba). And we examine a variety of uses of Spanish articles by dividing the second chapter into two sections: the comparison of the definite article with the indefinite one (el libro/un libro), and diverse characteristics of the article lo. The third part, the analysis of different functions and uses of the article lo, is divided, in its turn, into three sections: 'lo + adjective'(lo noble=la nobleza; lo bueno=las cosas buenas; en lo alto=en la parte alta), 'lo + relative clause'(toma lo que quieras), and 'lo + adjective/adverb + que'(todos saben lo simpática que es tu hermana). The fourth chapter addresses impersonal expressions with a sense of topicalization(lo imporante es (que)=es importante (que)), and idiomatic phrases, which are structured with lo(a lo lejos); and shows how the article lo is interpreted into other languages like English, French and Italian. This investigation on lo is believed to contribute to our understanding of its diverse functions and also to the solution of various communication problems.