LA ESTILÍSTICA DEL ARTÍCULO DETERMINADO EN LA NOVELA SIN NOTICIAS DE GURB

Abstract

In the novel «Sin noticias de Gurb», by the Spanish contemporary writer Eduardo Mendoza, we analyze definite article´s use through the contrast of article´s presence / absence within the noun phrase. We start from the reflections of Alonso (1974) about stylistic functions of Spanish article in the literary language, and we proceed our analysis including other authors’ conclusions about determining aspects of article´s use or its omission. Our analysis is orientated towards reflection on article´s use as a «stylem», due to the fact that Mendoza appears to play with the article´s usage. By presenting illustrative examples from the novel, we question how far do the limits of the conventional use of definite article go, and, beyond that, what circumstances for the stylistic use of article are presented in the novel, which could be taken as a Mendoza’s style of narration. The contrast between article´s presence and absence in this humoristic novel becomes one of the signs of subjective expressiveness, which serves the author to accomplish his literary and artistic goals. The sets of “minimal pairs” found in the novel clearly show, on one side, author´s tendency to «denude» the linguistic expression when the language is in the function of describing aliens lives and routines, marked down as beings with the highest level of precision, but with considerable linguistic shortage while communicating. On the other side, when the discourse is related with human aspects, Earth, and the city of Barcelona, Mendoza chooses to hold to the «expected, conventional» definite article´s use.