Editing Vulgar Latin (section)

=== Romance articles ===
It is difficult to place the point in which the [[definite article]], absent in Latin but present in all Romance languages, arose, largely because the highly colloquial speech in which it arose was seldom written down until the daughter languages had strongly diverged; most surviving texts in early Romance show the articles fully developed.

Definite articles evolved from demonstrative [[Pronoun|pronouns]] or [[Adjective|adjectives]] (an analogous development is found in many Indo-European languages, including [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] and [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]); compare the fate of the Latin [[demonstrative adjective]] {{wikt-lang|la|ille}}, {{wikt-lang|la|illa}}, {{wikt-lang|la|illud}} "that", in the [[Romance languages]], becoming French {{wikt-lang|fr|le}} and {{wikt-lang|fr|la}} (Old French ''li'', ''lo'', ''la''), Catalan and Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|el}}, {{wikt-lang|es|la}} and {{wikt-lang|es|lo}}, Occitan {{wikt-lang|oc|lo}} and {{wikt-lang|oc|la}}, Portuguese and Galician {{wikt-lang|pt|o}} and {{wikt-lang|pt|a}} (elision of -l- is a common feature of Galician-Portuguese) and Italian {{wikt-lang|it|il}}, {{wikt-lang|it|lo}} and {{wikt-lang|it|la}}. [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] went its own way here also, forming its article from {{wikt-lang|la|ipse}}, {{wikt-lang|la|ipsa}} an intensive adjective (''su, sa''); some Catalan and Occitan dialects have articles from the same source. While most of the Romance languages put the article before the noun, Romanian has its own way, by putting the article after the noun, e.g. ''lupul'' ("the wolf" – from *''lupum illum'') and ''omul'' ("the man" – ''*homo illum''),<ref name="Vincent2">Vincent (1990).</ref> possibly a result of being within the [[Balkan sprachbund]].

The term {{Lang|la|ille}} may have evolved from its initial demonstrative function, broadening to convey [[Semantics|semantic]] prominence by directing the attention of the audience towards particular referents which the speaker intended to highlight. This usage of the term is found in the {{Lang|la|[[Itinerarium Egeriae]]}}, which recounts the travels of the [[Christian pilgrimage|Christian pilgrim]]—and the author—[[Egeria (pilgrim)|Egeria]]: the author utilizes the demonstrative to mark words that are crucial to the meaning of the text. For instance, when noting the location of a cave by a church, Egeria clarifies that she is referring to "{{Lang|la|ipsa ecclesia}}" ("that church"). The usage of {{Lang|la|ille}} typically occurs alongside nouns that have previously been identified with the text: Egeria, when describing a church near [[Mount of Olives|Mount Olivet]], initially describes it merely as an "{{Lang|la|ecclesia}}," but later refers to it as "{{Lang|la|ipsa ecclesia}}." The usage of the demonstratives to denote prominent parts of discourse may have predicated the eventual transformation of the term into a definite article. Once speakers began prefacing sentences with the term, they began utilizing it in a manner similar to an article; therefore, the article-like features of the word eventually become normalized and then incorporated into the standard grammar of the language.{{Sfn|Faingold|2003|pp=49-50}}  

In Late Latin writings, {{Lang|la|ille}} was often used by writers in [[Relative clause|relative clauses]] to establish the identity of subjects not previously mentioned in the text.{{Sfn|Carlier|Mulder|2010|p=249}} The 7th-century ''[[Chronicle of Fredegar]]'' clarifies that it is discussing "{{Lang|la|homines illos}}" ("those men") before introducing a relative clause in which they are the subject.{{Sfn|Carlier|Mulder|2010|p=249}} During this time period, the term also developed [[Anaphora (linguistics)|anaphoric]] functions as an extension of the original demonstrative usage: Late Latin authors would substitute more basic mentions of a referent with {{Lang|la|ille}} and added more descriptive information.{{Sfn|Carlier|Mulder|2010|p=259}} For instance, the ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' refers to a "{{Lang|la|regina}}" ("queen") as "{{Lang|la|illam parentem Francorum}}," meaning "that relative of the [[Franks]]. From this usage of the {{Lang|la|ille}}, in which it functioned help identify a specific referent, the term may have generalized to adopt more features associated with definite articles. One example of such a development appears in the writings of the 6th-century [[Gallo-Roman culture|Gallo-Roman]] historian [[Gregory of Tours]], who wrote "{{Lang|la|Ductus itaque sanctus Eugenius ad regem, cum illo Arrianorum episcopo pro fide catholica decertavit}}," meaning "The holy [[Eugenius of Carthage|Eugenius]] was led to the king, and debated with that Arrian [[bishop]] in defense of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic faith]]."<ref>[[Gregory of Tours]]. [[iarchive:sanctigeorgiiflo01greg|Sancti Georgii Florentii Gregorii, espiscopi turonensis, Historiæ ecclesiasticæ Francorum libri decem]]. [[iarchive:sanctigeorgiiflo01greg/page/58|2.3.2]].</ref> Within this passage, the [[Ablative case|ablative]] form of the pronoun, {{Lang|la|illo}}, is utilized to denote the Arrian bishop, however it appears to function for more like the English article "the" rather than the original Classical Latin {{Lang|la|ille}}: the sentence could be understood equally as well if rendered as "The holy Eugenius was led to the king, and debated with the Arrian [[bishop]] in defense of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic faith]]."{{Sfn|Carlier|Mulder|2010|pp=251-252}} Another indication of the weakening of the demonstratives can be inferred from the fact that at this time, legal and similar texts begin to swarm with {{wikt-lang|la|praedictus}}, {{wikt-lang|la|supradictus}}, and so forth (all meaning, essentially, "aforesaid"), which seem to mean little more than "this" or "that". Gregory of Tours writes, ''Erat autem... beatissimus Anianus in supradicta civitate episcopus'' ("Blessed Anianus was bishop in that city.") The original Latin demonstrative adjectives were no longer felt to be strong or specific enough.<ref name="Harrington2">Harrington et al. (1997).</ref>

The Latin pronoun {{Lang|la|ipse}}, which was initially used to emphasize specific referents, also developed functions similar to a definite article. However, it retained some of its original emphatic properties: it was also used anaphorically to highlight prominent referents. In one 9th-10th century text from the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell|Diocese of Urgell]] they utilize the phrase {{Lang|la|ipsa ecclesia}} to identify the church the entire paragraph referred to while identifying a unique river, not mentioned previously in the text, as "{{Lang|la|illo ribo}}" ("that river").{{Sfn|Bernstein|Ordóñez|Urgell|2021|p=13}} Alongside its emphatic usage, the original Classical Latin {{Lang|la|ipse}} was also used to clarify referents if the text risked introducing ambiguity regarding the subjects and objects involved.{{Sfn|Carlier|Mulder|2010|p=14}} However, in Late Latin literature {{Lang|la|ipse}} appears in scenarios in which its presence was not necessary: In the ''Chronicle of Fredegar'', a character is introduced as "{{Lang|la|Waiofarium}}" ("[[Waiofar]]) before—in the next sentence—being described as "{{Lang|la|ipsum Waiofarium}}" ("the very same Waiofar").{{Sfn|Carlier|Mulder|2010|pp=17-18}} Other documents suggest that {{Lang|la|ipse}} and {{Lang|la|ille}} may have eventually assumed practically identical meanings: the 11th-12th century text, the {{Lang|la|Cartulario de Sant Cugat del Vallés}} utilizes both terms like definite articles, mentioning "{{Lang|la|ipsum mansum}}" and "{{Lang|la|illum mansum}}," both meaning "the authority."{{Sfn|Bernstein|Ordóñez|Urgell|2021|p=13}}

In the less formal speech, reconstructed forms suggest that the inherited Latin demonstratives were made more forceful by being compounded with {{wikt-lang|la|ecce}} (originally an [[interjection]]: "behold!"), which also spawned Italian {{wikt-lang|it|ecco}} through {{wikt-lang|la|eccum}}, a contracted form of ''ecce eum''. This is the origin of Old French {{wikt-lang|fro|cil}} (*''ecce ille''), {{wikt-lang|fro|cist}} (*''ecce iste'') and {{wikt-lang|fro|ici}} (*''ecce hic''); Italian {{wikt-lang|it|questo}} (*''eccum istum''), {{wikt-lang|it|quello}} (*''eccum illum'') and (now mainly Tuscan) {{wikt-lang|it|codesto}} (*''eccum tibi istum''), as well as {{wikt-lang|it|qui}} (*''eccu hic''), {{wikt-lang|it|qua}} (*''eccum hac''); Spanish and Occitan {{wikt-lang|es|aquel}} and Portuguese {{wikt-lang|pt|aquele}} (*''eccum ille''); Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|acá}} and Portuguese {{wikt-lang|pt|cá}} (*''eccum hac''); Spanish {{wikt-lang|es|aquí}} and Portuguese {{wikt-lang|pt|aqui}} (*''eccum hic''); Portuguese {{wikt-lang|pt|acolá}} (*''eccum illac'') and {{wikt-lang|pt|aquém}} (*''eccum inde''); Romanian {{wikt-lang|ro|acest}} (*''ecce iste'') and {{wikt-lang|ro|acela}} (*''ecce ille''), and many other forms.

On the other hand, even in the [[Oaths of Strasbourg]], dictated in Old French in AD 842, no demonstrative appears even in places where one would clearly be called for in all the later languages (''pro christian poblo'' – "for the Christian people"). Using the demonstratives as articles may have still been considered overly informal for a royal oath in the 9th century. Considerable variation exists in all of the Romance vernaculars as to their actual use:{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} in Romanian, the articles are suffixed to the noun (or an adjective preceding it), as in other languages of the [[Balkan sprachbund]] and the [[North Germanic languages]].

The numeral {{wikt-lang|la|unus}}, {{wikt-lang|la|una}} (one) supplies the [[indefinite article]] in all cases (again, this is a common semantic development across Europe). This is anticipated in Classical Latin; [[Cicero]] writes ''cum uno gladiatore nequissimo''<ref>{{cite book |author=Marcus Tullius Cicero |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0011%3Atext%3DPhil.%3Aspeech%3D2%3Achapter%3D3 |title=Philippics |at=Speech 2, chapter 3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121150242/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0011:text%3DPhil.:speech%3D2:chapter%3D3 |archive-date=2022-11-21 |url-status=live}}</ref> ("with a most immoral gladiator"). This suggests that ''{{lang|la|unus}}'' was beginning to supplant {{wikt-lang|la|quidam}} in the meaning of "a certain" or "some" by the 1st century BC.{{Dubious|date=May 2009|reason=Still dubious in 2024.}}