Abstract
<jats:p>This chapter discusses theoretical issues related to historical developments of adnominal demonstratives against the backdrop of a methodological paradigm transition from the so‐called etymological argumentation to arguments based on the observation of changing quantitative patterns in the historical data. The methodological shift challenges some of the previously held empirical assumptions and calls for new theoretical answers. Using better‐documented languages for case studies, I show that recent quantitative results challenge the long‐held view about historically ‘observable’ cyclic shifts from demonstratives proper to definite articles. In particular, the results point to a greater diachronic stability of demonstrative systems than was assumed based on the etymological arguments.</jats:p>