ILLNESSES AND DISEASES: ARTICLE OR NOT? THAT’S QUESTION! ILLNESSES AND DISEASES: ARTICLE OR NOT? THAT’S QUESTION!

A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (2004, p. 279) suggests the zero article for the following illnesses: anaemia, appendicitis, diabetes, influenza, pneumonia. However, the definite article alternates with the zero article for infectious diseases: (the) flu, (the) measles, (the) mumps, (the) chicken pox, (the) hiccups. The article is not normally omitted with the/a plague, the bends, the jitter, the/a bellyache, a cold, a fever, and a temperature. The fixed expression catch cold is an exception. Nouns formed from ache are noncount when they denote a condition. On the other hand, when they denote a single attack, they are count in AmE and noncount in BrE.


Introduction
In general, the functioning of articles in the English language is far from being clear. One of the most controversial areas and at the same time the least dealt with is the use of articles with illnesses and diseases. This is the main reason why we have concentrated on this field of research.

Various approaches to the use of articles with the names of illnesses
Studying the essential prescriptive grammars of the English language only the following information has been found: A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (2004, p. 279) suggests the zero article for the following illnesses: anaemia, appendicitis, diabetes, influenza, pneumonia. However, the definite article alternates with the zero article for infectious diseases: (the) flu, (the) measles, (the) mumps, (the) chicken pox, (the) hiccups. The article is not normally omitted with the/a plague, the bends, the jitter, the/a bellyache, a cold, a fever, and a temperature. The fixed expression catch cold is an exception. Nouns formed from ache are noncount when they denote a condition. On the other hand, when they denote a single attack, they are count in AmE and noncount in BrE.
According to Alexander (1998, p. 61), the indefinite article is obligatory in these instances: a cold, a headache, a sore throat, a weak heart, a broken leg. We can use or omit the indefinite article in these expressions: catch (a) cold, have (a) backache, (a) stomach-ache,(a) toothache, (an) earache. Articles are not used with illnesses which are plural in form: measles, mumps, shingles and with illnesses which are considered as uncountable: flu, gout, hepatitis, high blood pressure. But at the same time it is possible to combine the definite article with flu, measles and mumps. Hais (1991, p. 62) introduces articles in the cases of: a headache, (the) toothache, (the) measles, (a) flu. An article is not placed before the names of the following illnesses: pneumonia, bronchitis, influenza, fever, cancer, lumbago, sunstroke. If the illness is described in more details, we use the article. There is no mention about the use of articles with illnesses and diseases in Grammar of Spoken and Written English (2000).

The overview of illnesses, diseases and disorders with corresponding articles
THE FAMILY MEDICAL REFERENCE BOOK has been chosen to verify the above mentioned concepts and, at the same time to provide us with the possibility to work out a more complete overview of the use of articles with illnesses and diseases which have not been taken into consideration yet. The following table aims to present the list of illnesses, diseases and disorders The commonest phobia -logical use of the definite article -Agoraphobia Social phobia is also a common phobia -nonreferring use of the inde -Social phobia finite article it is possible to develop a phobia of almost anything -the generic use of the indefinite article (any representative member of the class)

Conclusions
There have been found several differences between the use of articles with illnesses and diseases as suggested in the grammar books and their actual use in The Family Medical Reference Book. Plague could serve as a typical example of such a difference: while in the grammar books the definite or indefinite article is recommended, it has not occurred in any instance in the analysed text.
Many other examples are even more ambiguous.
Where the article with a particular illness is considered as unmarked, it is placed in the second column of the table. On the other hand, where the use of article is felt as marked, it is given in the third column with a suggested explanation.
As found in the analysed text, if an illness is understood as uncountable and 'abstract' the zero article is preferred. On the contrary to this, if an illness or disorder is countable and somehow visible or touchable, the indefinite article is used (a mole, a wart, a hernia, an aneurysm, an allergy).
When the combination of the definite or indefinite article with an illness represents the whole class or any representative member the reference has been classified as generic.
If the name of an illness or disorder is mentioned earlier in the context or specified later in the context it is taken as a typical example of anaphoric (direct, indirect) or cataphoric reference. In the instances where an illness is described in more details, the indefinite article is used and it is felt as nonreferring and have a descriptive role.
In the specific case of headache when it denotes a condition it is used with the zero article but when it denotes a single attack the indefinite article is preferred.
This was just an attempt to analyse the use of articles with the names of illnesses, diseases and disorders based on the content of The Family Medical Reference Book. We understand that the topic has not been covered in its full range and requires further investigation. This will hopefully be found in subsequent papers.