Some Remarks on the Generic Use of the German Definite Article from Cognitive Point of View.

The German definite article is considered as one of the problematic areas by Polish learning German. The semantic description of that grammatical category as a language expression of the definiteness, for example in the case of the anaphoric or cataphoric use can be based on the textual context, but the generic use can be explained by the frame concept. The present paper attempts to apply the concepts “definiteness” and “uniqueness” for that use in terms of the cognitive frame, the author focuses on finding a common denominator for all types of using the definite article in the German.

The German definite article is considered as one of the problematic areas by Polish learning German. The semantic description of that grammatical category as a language expression of the definiteness, for example in the case of the anaphoric or cataphoric use can be based on the textual context, but the generic use can be explained by the frame concept. The present paper attempts to apply the concepts “definiteness” and “uniqueness” for that use in terms of the cognitive frame, the author focuses on finding a common denominator for all types of using the definite article in the German.