Semantic criteria:
- Differences between the definite and indefinite article:
Notwithstanding the definitions current,
the definite article does not seem to
designate a noun in a specific way and the indefinite one does not
seem to designate a noun in a generic way. The difference
rather seems to rely on the opposition between i) ``class vs. member"
and ii)
``known vs. new" (Renzi, 1991):
i) - class: il leone e' il re degli animali
i) - member: ho visto un leone allo zoo
ii) - known: devo portare fuori il cane
ii) - new: voglio comprarmi un cane
.