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On Formal Feature Licensing in Minimalism: Aspects of Standard Arabic Morphosyntax
... In Standard Arabic, the subject may precede or follow the verb, yielding two possible word orders: VSO and SVO. Several proposals in the literature of Arabic syntax (Mohammad, 1990;Fassi-Fehri, 1993;Aoun et al., 1994;Ouhalla, 1994;Soltan, 2007;Al-Horais, 2009; among many others) sought to account for agreement patterns in Standard Arabic by resting on their assumption that there is an asymmetric relation between agreement pattern and word order alternation: partial agreement in VSO but full agreement in SVO. Examples (1) and (2) from Standard Arabic illustrate these language facts. ...
... Several analyses have been proposed in the literature of Arabic syntax (Mohammad, 1990(Mohammad, , 2000Fassi-Fehri, 1993;Aoun et al., 1994;Olarrea (1995); (Benmamoun, 2000;Soltan, 2007;Fakih, 2016;Alahdal, 2021) among others in attempt to provide possible accounts for subject-verb agreement based on word order asymmetries: partial agreement in VSO but full agreement in SVO. These accounts include the Null Expletive Analysis (Mohammad, 1990(Mohammad, , 2000Ouhalla, 1994;Soltan, 2007;Al-Horais, 2009), PF-Merger Analysis (Benmamoun, 2000), Agreement Loss Analysis (Aoun et al., 1994), Base-generated Analysis (Soltan, 2007), and Feature Inheritance-based Analysis (Fakih, 2016). ...
... Several analyses have been proposed in the literature of Arabic syntax (Mohammad, 1990(Mohammad, , 2000Fassi-Fehri, 1993;Aoun et al., 1994;Olarrea (1995); (Benmamoun, 2000;Soltan, 2007;Fakih, 2016;Alahdal, 2021) among others in attempt to provide possible accounts for subject-verb agreement based on word order asymmetries: partial agreement in VSO but full agreement in SVO. These accounts include the Null Expletive Analysis (Mohammad, 1990(Mohammad, , 2000Ouhalla, 1994;Soltan, 2007;Al-Horais, 2009), PF-Merger Analysis (Benmamoun, 2000), Agreement Loss Analysis (Aoun et al., 1994), Base-generated Analysis (Soltan, 2007), and Feature Inheritance-based Analysis (Fakih, 2016). I will briefly review these previous analyses to decide whether they can provide ...
The paper revisits the issue of the structural representation of subject-verb agreement in Arabic varieties with a particular reference to Standard Arabic and seven Arabic dialects, i.e., Saudi Arabic, Yemeni Arabic, Iraqi Arabic, Jordanian Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, and Lebanese Arabic. The paper recasts agreement asymmetries proposed in the literature of Arabic syntax: partial agreement in VSO but full agreement in SVO. Empirical evidence shows that such proposed asymmetries should be dissolved as all language varieties display agreement between the verb and the subject in all features except the number feature in the VS order of standard variety. Even in the VS order of this variety, the verb fully agrees with the subject when the latter is a pronoun. Based on empirical observations, the puzzling phenomenon of agreement can receive a straightforwardly unified account based on the Feature Inheritance model of syntax (FI). Irrespective of the possible order used in Arabic, full agreement morphology is always predicted as a result of an Agree relation, via FI, between the probe T and the subject generated at Spec; vP. However, the number feature alternation in the VS order of Standard Arabic is attributed to the PF interface rather than the narrow syntax, i.e., the possibility to spell out the number feature periphrastically rather than affixially.
... One major manifestation of the Agree operation in Arabic grammar relates to subject-verb agreements where the verb inflects for the person, number and gender features of the subject (except for VSO sentences in Standard Arabic where the verb inflects for gender and person features of the subject). This subject-verb agreement is analyzed as an instance of the Agree operation where T (to which the verb is adjoined) carries a bundle of uninterpretable, unvalued U-features which are valued by those of the subject which are interpretable and lexically specified (Soltan, 2007). Another example of agreement relations in Arabic is nominal concord where nominal modifiers (adjectives) inflect for gender and number features of the modified noun. ...
... To account for the observation that ʔinn does not agree with the topical subject, we propose that when the subject is a topical element, it externally merges in the CP area, while Spec, TP is filled with an expletive pro. The assumption that topical elements of CP are base-generated in their surface position is proposed and defended by a number of researchers including Ouhalla (1997), Soltan (2007), Aoun et al. (2009), and Albuhayri (2019), among others. Soltan (2007), for instance, mentions that when the subject is a topic in the CP area of the clause, Spec,vP is filled with a referential pro. ...
... The assumption that topical elements of CP are base-generated in their surface position is proposed and defended by a number of researchers including Ouhalla (1997), Soltan (2007), Aoun et al. (2009), and Albuhayri (2019), among others. Soltan (2007), for instance, mentions that when the subject is a topic in the CP area of the clause, Spec,vP is filled with a referential pro. We suggest, however, that this pro does not move to Spec, TP to satisfy EPP requirements. ...
The present paper explores φ-agreement patterns between C0 ʔinn ‘that’ and the local subject in eight Arabic dialects. Four distinct patterns of φ-agreement are identified. In Pattern I dialects, C0 displays obligatory φ-agreement with a pro subject but optional φ-agreement with the non-pro subject. In Pattern II dialects, C0 shows obligatory φ-agreement with a pro subject but no φ-agreement with the non-pro subject. In Pattern III dialects, C0 shows optional φ-agreement with a pro subject but no φ-agreement with the non-pro subject. Finally, in Pattern IV dialects, C0 displays no φ-agreement with the pro- or non-pro subjects. To account for these asymmetrical patterns of complementizer agreement (or lack thereof), we propose that C0 ʔinn always merges under Fin0 (where it acts as a probe (cf. Chomsky 2000)) and afterward moves to Force0 to check the Force feature. Additionally, we show that these four patterns arise due to the interaction of the interplay of the φ-content of C0 and the structural position and nature of the subject (e.g., whether it is a lexical subject, referential pro, or expletive pro).
... Other permutations are allowed under certain pragmatic and/or syntactic constraints. Several proposals tackle the derivation of Arabic SVO and VSO word orders (Bakir, 1980;Benmamoun, 1992Benmamoun, , 2000bShlonsky, 2000;Aoun et al., 1994Aoun et al., , 2010Ouhalla, 1991;Fassi Fehri, 1993;Mohammed, 2000;Soltan, 2007Soltan, , 2011Lewis, 2013;Andrason, 2016;Alatawi, 2016;Alshamari, 2017; Jarrah, 2017b, 2019b; Alazzawie, 2019; Albuhayri, 2019; Alsager & Mahzari, 2021, among many others). On the other hand, no detailed proposal addresses word order in AA. ...
... So, if 'ʔətˤofla' occupies Spec.TP position, a subject position, (10) should be ungrammatical but this is not the case. Following Soltan (2007), the grammaticality of (10) can be accounted for by proposing that the Spec/TP is occupied by pro and 'ʔətˤofla' occupies an A'-position. Notice that in a sentence having thetic interpretation, omitting the preverbal subject renders the sentence ungrammatical because the element occupying Spec/TP is omitted, as shown below. ...
... Recall that referentiality is a defining characteristic of topicality (Reinhart, 1981). Following the views of Frascarelli and Hinterhö lzl (2007), Soltan(2007), and Rizzi (2018), among many others, we will assume that the preverbal element is coreferenced with a null resumptive pronominal that is located in the A-domain of the clause. Frascarelli and Hinterhö lzl (2007) assume that each topic head is merged with particular topic feature. ...
This paper investigates word order derivation in root clauses in Algerian Arabic (AA) with a focus on preverbal and postverbal constituents. The data is collected from audio typed recordings of natural ongoing speeches of 40 Algerian informants. Four cartographic frameworks are applied: Rizzi’s (1997) Split-CP system, Frascarelli and Hinterhölzl’s (2007) topic typology, Kiss’s (1998) contrastive-information focus dichotomy and Belletti’s (2004, 2005) model of the low periphery. Empirical evidence shows that preverbal elements can have three readings: genuine subject reading, topic reading, or focus reading. Unlike Rizzi (1997) who assumes that topic is a unique category, and in line with Frascarelli and Hinterhölzl’s (2007), three kinds of topics are licensed in the AA left periphery: non-recursive aboutness topic, recursive familiar topics and non-recursive contrastive topic. AA left periphery hosts only contrastive focus, and informational focus occurs in lower positions. Empirical evidence also shows that AA manifest a low IP area containing low topic and low focus. Different arguments are used to support this view: the behavior of the copula ‘ka:na’, floating quantifier and the behavior of the exclusive particle ‘bark’.
... Adopting and building on Chomsky (2005), Soltan (2007) proposes that the moved object DP targets an additional specifier of v*P, which means the DP remains within the projection of v. Soltan argues, based on data from SA, that the periphery is not limited to the Phase heads, C and v as in Chomsky (2005) but may include the periphery of other functional heads like T, Neg(ation), or Mod(ality). He further posits that the periphery is not a position but a "syntactically salient" zone, a concept attributed to Uriagereka (2006). ...
... The verb originates within the VP, and then raises to T (Ouhalla, 1994;Benmamoun, 2000), thus ending up in front of the object and the subject, rendering the VOS order. The subject of the clause remains in the specifier of vP, assuming the internal subject hypothesis (Koopman and Sportiche, 1991), and the notion that T in SA does not attract subject raising (Soltan, 2007). The object pronoun movement, the verb movement and the positions targeted by movement are discussed in the next section. ...
... The V-clitic complex appears under T below the split-CP layer as an instance of head movement. Regarding this subject, We have adopted the internal-subject hypothesis with the view that the subject does not raise from within vP to the specifier of TP, given that T in SA lacks the raising edge features responsible for subject raising in languages like English (Soltan, 2007). ...
Purpose
Adopting the split complementizer phrase (CP) hypothesis, the paper aims at providing an account for object cliticization in Standard Arabic (SA) as an instance of object displacement. Kayne's proposal on cliticization is adopted here to account for the type of displacement in SA that objects clitics in SA, like full determiner phrases (DPs), obligatorily move from their base position as independent complements of the verb to the specifier of Foc first before attaching to the verb under the tense node.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopts a qualitative interpretive research design (Creswell, 2007, 2010). The majority of the samples chosen for the study involve dependent pronominal objects obligatorily attached to the verb. The samples were judged to be grammatical based on the author's judgment as an native speaker of Arabic. Moreover, all the examples were checked for grammaticality by two full professors of Arabic grammar who are native speakers.
Findings
The analysis proposed that, like lexical DP's, pronominal objects originate as separate maximal projection (XP) constituents and move from their base position as verbal complements to the focus position [Spec, Foc]. In other words, both are able to move out of VP, targeting the same specifier position of a functional projection. This movement is focus-driven, that is, triggered by the edge feature on Foc. Pronominal objects at a later phase crucially higher than V0 (possibly in phonetic form (PF)) get cliticized to the verb which has adjoined to T.
Originality/value
Unlike displaced lexical DP objects in SA syntax, displaced pronominal objects, however, have received less critical attention especially within Rizzi's (1997, 2004) left periphery theory and, therefore, some areas of these constructions remain poorly understood.
... One important assumption which the present article adopts is that a preverbal subject and dislocated object in SA are elements that are not assigned cases in the narrow syntax (as long as they are interpreted as topical elements). This assumption, which is commonly referred to in the related literature as the standard analysis for SVO and OVS clauses in SA (see Albuhayri 2019; Aoun et al. 2010;Fassi Fehri 1993;Mohammad 2000;Soltan 2007), is largely based on two empirical arguments, namely the form of the subject and the presence of a resumptive pronoun on the verb in case of a dislocated object. Let us start with the former case which is the form of the subject. ...
... As is well-known in the related literature, SA displays subject-verb agreement asymmetries between VSO and SVO clauses (Aoun et al. 1994(Aoun et al. , 2010Fassi Fehri 1993;Jarrah 2019;Ouhalla 1994;Plunkett 1993;Soltan 2007). In VSO clauses, the verb agrees with the subject in person and gender, while it fully agrees with the subject in SVO clauses (i.e., Number, Gender, and Person). ...
... This difference between VSO and SVO clauses has attracted the attention of many researchers (Aoun et al. 1994;Fassi Fehri 1993;Harbert and Bahloul 2002;Jarrah 2019;Soltan 2007). One important observation put forward by Harbert and Bahloul (2002) is that such asymmetries disappear when the subject is a pronoun, as shown in the following examples: ...
This research article offers empirical evidence from Standard Arabic (SA) that an existing structural case assigned on an element by one head can be overridden by a new structural case assigned by a different head as long as the element (or one of its copies) has not become part of any previous transfer domain defined by the Phase Impenetrability Condition (PIC) (see Chomsky 2000). Our main evidence comes from the patterns of case assignment of the overt complementizer ʔinna in SA. ʔinna can only assign case to elements that otherwise bear default case, including a topical object or a topical subject as well as elements that are assigned case by T0 such as a contrastively-focused subject. On the other hand, ʔinna never assigns case to a contrastively-focused object (that is located in CP) which is argued to be base-generated in its thematic position within the transfer domain of v*P. These facts are taken together as evidence that a structural case assigned to elements within a phase is temporary (as it can be overridden) until the transfer takes place. We attribute this to the workings of a transfer principle labelled as The Case-Chain Uniformity Principle (CCUP) that demands that a non-trivial chain (i.e., a discontinuous entity) be only assigned one case value in the interface.
... Additionally, Alshamari (2017a) mentions that the SVO word order in NA is predominantly used in embedded contexts, which are crosslinguistically often used as diagnostics to identify the unmarked word order of a given language (see, e.g., Bader and Häussler 2010;Jarrah 2019;Vikner 1994). 2 Other word order patterns are nonetheless still productive in NA, particularly the VSO word order, which is viewed as a common marked word order across NA subdialects (Abboud 1964;Ingham 1994). This contrasts with Standard Arabic (SA), where VSO is regarded as the predominant, unmarked word order (Aoun et al. 2010;Fassi Fehri 1993;Parkinson 1981;Soltan 2007). Alshamari (2017aAlshamari ( , 2017b and Alshammari (2018), among others, propose that VSO clauses in NA are syntactically derived through the movement of the lexical verb to a left-peripheral position, undergoing focalization, while the rest of the clause expresses the background of the proposition (i.e., the presupposition). ...
... In NA, a resumptive clitic of the object also appears on the verb in OVS clauses, signaling topicality of the fronted object: 4 (4) a. ʔar-ruxsˤah ʔistalam-ah ʔas-sa:jiɡ The presence of the resumptive clitic mirroring the object on the verb, and indicating topicality of the preverbal object, is also attested in Standard Arabic (SA), whose topics are distributionally identified through their sentence-initial position, and morphologically by nominative case (Albuhayri 2019;Ouhalla 1997;Soltan 2007;among others). Consider the following OVS sentences from SA. ...
... Its thematic position is filled with a resumptive clitic that is incorporated into the verb during sentence derivation. Ouhalla (1997) refers to the constructions in (5) as instances of "left-dislocated phrases" (LD-phrases) (see also Soltan 2007). Aoun and Benmamoun (1998) refer to them as "clitic left-dislocation" (CLLD), which is a familiar construction in Romance languages, including Italian and Spanish (Cinque 1990). ...
This article explores the low IP area of Najdi Arabic, with special reference to a construction involving a post-verbal object that is resumed on the verb (as in The man saw-her the woman). We provide evidence that the object is a topic in the low IP area in such cases. However, the position of the object in the low IP area is masked by the movement of the verb to T0 or, in some cases (if T0 is lexically filled) to the head of the low Focus Phrase. We also provide evidence that Najdi Arabic low topics exclusively express given, accessible information (i.e. familiar topics), which is found to be a prominent characteristic that distinguishes them from high topics (in the CP domain). High topics are shown to be ambiguous with respect to their specific discourse-informational value (aboutness/shifting vs. contrastiveness vs. familiarity). Additionally, we offer evidence that low topics in Najdi Arabic are recursive, dominated by a low Focus Phrase (FocP > TopP*). At a general level, the study demonstrates that topics in the low IP area are more restrictive in their informational content than previously believed
... only in person and gender) with its subject as in (2a) below, but in a SVO word order the verb shows full agreement (i.e. all in persons, genders, and numbers) as (2b) demonstrates (see, Mohammad 1990, Fassi Fehri 1993, Bolotin 1995, Benmamoun 2000a, 2000b, Benmamoun and Lorimor, 2006, Johns 2007, Soltan 2007, Aoun et al. 2010 (the following examples are adapted from Musabhien 2009: 23). 3 (2) a. was ʕ al-a ʔal-ʔawlaad-u arrived. 3SG The whole picture is more complicated when other cases are factored in. ...
... Agree-based approach; Chomsky 2001, et seq.), I propose that this suffix is a morphological manifestation of agreement between the subject and Tº while the former is in Spec,vP (see, Soltan 2007 for a similar approach to MSA). My proposal is compatible with the notion that agreement between the subject and Tº occurs before subject extraction is performed. ...
... With the fact that SVO is the word order used in ECM constructions, it can be assumed that the preverbal subject is a true subject filling Spec,SubjP. This assumption first runs counter to what Soltan (2007) argues for ECM constructions in MSA whereby the ECM preverbal subject is assumed to be base-generated in the matrix VP position of the matrix clause, an account known as prolepsis (see Davies 2005). Additionally, this assumption implies that unlike the case with other embedded clauses attested in this thesis, Spec,SubjP is filled by the thematic subject rather an expletive pro. ...
This thesis proposes a minimalist and cartographic analysis of A-bar movement in Jordanian Arabic (JA) with a particular focus on subject extraction. Adopting the Criterial Freezing approach to A-bar movement and chain formation (Rizzi 2005, 2006, 2014, Rizzi and Shlonsky 2006, 2007), it argues that Spec,SubjP in this Arabic variety is a criterial position and, hence, subject to the effects of the so-called Subject Criterion that prevents movement from this position. In order to facilitate subject extraction from root clauses, the thesis argues that JA resorts to a set of skipping strategies ruled by the postulated D(iscourse)-linking condition of the Subject Criterion which requires Spec,SubjP to be filled with an element with the same D-linking status as the extracted subject wh-word. When the subject wh-word of a root clause is D-linked, Spec,SubjP is filled with the D-linking element ʔilli. The thesis also shows that Spec,SubjP in such cases may alternatively be filled with a deictic temporal/locative adjunct. Deictic temporal adjuncts may fill Spec,SubjP, regardless of the type of the verb used (i.e. transitive, unergative, or unaccusative), whereas deictic locative adjuncts only fill Spec,SubjP in questions with unaccusative verbs. The thesis shows that this discrepancy is due to the effects of the Phase Impenetrability Condition (PIC) (Chomsky 2000, 2001, 2005), which blocks Subj° from probing goals within the complement of v*P. The study provides evidence to the effect that locative adjuncts are adjoined to VP, whereas temporal adjuncts are adjoined to TP, something that makes them immune to the effects of the PIC. On the other hand, when the subject wh-word is not D-linked, Spec,SubjP is filled with an expletive pro.
In pursuit of exploring subject extraction from embedded clauses (introduced by the complementizer ʔinn ‘that’), the thesis explores the derivations of the possible word orders used in such clauses. It also provides an account of the bound forms attached to the complementizer ʔinn, arguing that such forms are better treated as inflectional suffixes whose PF form is a consequence of the locality-ruled Agree relation between C° ʔinn and the closest c-commanded visible DP. Contra Chomsky’s (2007) feature inheritance, the present thesis assumes that C° in JA retains its uΦ-features, while T° is separately endowed with a bundle of uΦ-features, given its positive setting of the postulated T°-Φ parameter (i.e. Tº is endowed with Φ-features).
Additionally, the thesis shows that factivity is a key factor that determines the possibility of (subject) extraction from embedded contexts or lack thereof. Unlike the clauses embedded under a nonfactive predicate such as jifkkir ‘to believe’, no extraction is possible out of clauses embedded under a factive predicate such as jiħzan ‘to regret’. A full analysis of subject extraction from nonfactive complements is provided, and the relevant observations such as the impossibility of A-bar movement of some elements within the same clause while the subject of the embedded clause is extracted are accounted for, using the feature-based approach to locality (Starke 2001). As for the ban against extraction out of factive complements, the thesis argues that such clauses are DPs, headed by a null determiner. In so doing, the thesis provides substance to the Kiparskian stand that the structural difference between factive and non-factive complements lies in subcategorization of the matrix verb. At the same time, the proposed analysis challenges several recent approaches to factive complements that have argued either for a reduced left periphery for factive complements (e.g. Haegeman 2006, de Cuba 2007) or for the presence of an operator that has the effect to block movement out of these clauses (e.g. Zubizaretta 2001, Starke 2004, Haegeman 2012).
... Section 3 discusses the importance of these interactions which are shown to be direct effects of the so-called Agree Chain Record (ACR) (i.e., an Agree chain must be recorded at PF). In section 4, we explore how this view accounts for the absence of A-movement in SA, doing away with the Morphological case, ɸ-agreement, and overt movement 7 parametric view proposed in Soltan (2007). In section 5, we investigate the constructions that apparently pose challenges to our view of the interactions of morphological case, ɸ-agreement, and overt movement in Arabic grammar. ...
... We propose that this recording is imposed by the ACR which is an interface condition that requires a record of the Agree dependencies relation beyond narrow syntax. Miyagawa (2009) In the following section, we investigate one important phenomenon in Arabic syntax, i.e., the lack of A-movement in SA (Soltan, 2007). We ...
... 37 3 The notion that ʔinna (and ʔanna) are complementizers is widely adopted in the Arabic generative literature (Ryding, 2005;Soltan, 2007;Aoun et al., 2010, Ch. 2 (Ryding, 2005, p. 424). This pronoun is used as a generic buffer pronoun that appears between the complementizer and the following clause, as shown in the following SA example: The presence of this pronoun on ʔanna alleviates the restriction on the occurrence of a DP after the complementizer which can be followed by a verbal element as shown in (i). ...
Following Alshamari (2017) and Jarrah (2019), this paper offers evidence in favor of systematic interactions of morphological case, ɸ-agreement and overt movement in Arabic grammar. It argues that these three aspects of grammar serve one specific purpose, i.e., to record (i.e., express) Agree dependencies (of the Agree operation; cf. Chomsky, 2001) at the interface level of Phonetic Form (PF). To this end, constructions that include subject-verb agreement, (non-)agreeing discourse markers, and complementizer agreement in Standard Arabic and Arabic dialects (Jordanian Arabic and Najdi Arabic) are examined. The study proposes that Agree dependencies, which occur in the narrow syntax (before spellout), are recorded at PF through morphological case (assigned by the probe on the goal), and if not, thenby ɸ-inflections (of the goal on the probe) or, if not, by overt movement of the goal to (Spec of XP headed by) the probe. Such an interaction implies that morphological case bleeds ɸ-agreement which in turn is found to bleed overt movement. Exceptions to this rule are discussed and independently motivated.
... Hence case association with v* is licensed in VP-shell due to the reason that the embedded clause exhibits T/ϕincomplete to the subjunctive NP. Case, now, is base-generated in Spec-VP where accusative case is received by agree relation v* 0 (See Sultan 2007). The I 0 licenses nominative case to the subject NP. ...
... However, it has a full agreement with the subject 'Ali-un' and the object '?l-jidār-a'. In contrast to English in which defectiveness of the embedded infinitival [T] triggers the ECM subject to get its case valued from the lexical verb in the matrix clause, this doesn't apply to SA as Sultan (2007) stated because SA embedded subjunctive [T] exhibits ϕ-complete. Based on this view, the NP 'Ali-an' receives nominative case in the post-verbal position within the subjunctive clause. ...
... Following Sultan's (2007) footsteps, we say that the accusative NP 'Ali-an' in (5.b) is marked via the thematic object position of the matrix clause and no raising to the post-verbal position in embedded clause. This indicates that the accusative case marked to the NP occurs in the matrix clause rather than in the embedded clause. ...
This work aims to explain how Exceptional Case Marking (ECM) in Standard Arabic (SA) is licensed via checking features theory within the minimalist framework. I will account that Fin 0 includes mood 0 can license NPs case of the embedded clause when the finite heads (AGR 0 &T 0) fail to account optimally to case by the features of [ϕ] and [T] that found to be deficient. The subjunctive mood of a verb is assumed to assign nominative case to the embedded subject rather than accusative case and the NP receives accusative case by Agree Relation with the matrix v* 0 as base-generated NP in the matrix clause.
... Adopting a position maintained in Chomsky (2005), Soltan (2007) suggests that the position targeted by the clause internal moved DP is an additional specifier of v*P. That is the moved DP remains internal to v*P within the projection of v. ...
... The asterisk indicates that topics are recursive in that more than one topic is allowed in the left periphery of a given sentence. Soltan (2007) presents an analysis of object displacement in SA in terms of the minimalist adopting Chomsky's (2005) proposal that displaced DP targets a second specifier of v*P. Presenting data from SA, Soltan discussed the phenomenon of "object shift" in the language and concludes that "shifted objects" are moved to the v*P edge, extending the 2 As pointed out by a Heliyon reviewer, the sentence in (c) is acceptable because Case marking helps to differentiate ambiguity in interpretation. ...
... This is consistent with the Split-CP hypothesis adopted here which posits Focus Phrase as an independent projection. As indicated, triggered by the EF of Foc, the displaced object in SA moves from its original position to the specifier of FocP, not to the outer specifier of vP as in Soltan (2007). The second point concerns the term object shit (OS). ...
The aim of this paper is to provide a minimalist account of object displacement in terms of its trigger and its landing site in the syntactic tree structure of Standard Arabic (SA) clauses. The account utilizes Chomsky's concept of edge feature (EF) within the Minimalist Program and Rizzi's Split-CP analysis. In terms of its data scope, the paper is limited to a class of data identified as displaying the Verb – Object – Subject (VOS) order wherein the object is a full DP (not a pronominal clitic), and appears in a position preceding the subject. It will be argued that this order is the result of focus displacement of the object from its canonical position inside VP across the subject DP to the outer periphery of vP. The result of this operation is a marked order VOS driven by the vP edge feature (EF) to achieve the pragmatic function of focus.
... Thus, the complement as NP (requiring Case) retreats to take the accusative as the default case (see Schütze, 2001 for more discussion of the default case). This proposal might, however, be problematic because Mohammad (2000), Soltan (2007) and Al-Balushi (2011) among many others assume that the nominative is the default case in Arabic. For example, the nominative is assigned to the NP found in the A'-periphery as in the clitic left dislocation constructions in (88a) or the focus construction in (88b). ...
... (88) a. ʔal-madʒallat-u i qaraʔa-ha i l-mudi:r-u the-magazine-NOM read.IMPERF.3.M the-manager-NOM 'The magazine, the manager read it.' (Clitic Left Dislocation) b. ʔal-madʒallat-u qaraʔa l-mudi:r-u the-magazine-NOM read.IMPERF.3.M the-manager-NOM 'The magazine, the manager read' (Focus) Although this is true, the proposal put forward by Mohammad (2000), Soltan (2007) and Al-Balushi (2011) is not problem-free because the nominative cannot appear as the default case on the complements of adjectives, numerals, whword, and pronouns as shown in (87) ...
The current paper argues that there are three types of nominal appositions, i.e. two juxtaposed noun phrases (NPs), in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Each type shows special properties in terms of the nominal category of the two units, the deletion of the NP, word order, case agreement, and semantic relation. For each type, we propose a separate structural analysis. An adjunction analysis is motivated for Type I appositions which consist of a common noun followed by a proper name. For Type II appositions which involve two common nouns, we propose that they take a spec-head structure. A head-complement structure is finally proposed for Type III appositions which involve a pronoun followed by an accusative-marked NP.
... Another distinction between SA and MA when it comes to word order is the nature of the preverbal DP. It has been argued that the preverbal DP in SA is actually a topic and the evidence comes from the fact that subjects before the verb cannot occur as indefinite DPs as shown in the following example (Soltan 2007, p. 51): ...
... This is another reason why one also needs to focus on the different dialects of SA as distinct languages, which might offer other perspectives on linguistic phenomena. 4 SA data is taken from (Soltan, 2007) with slight modifications of the transcription to fit the one used in this paper. (14) rʒal tay-xədm-u bəzzaf men IMPV-work. ...
This paper attempts to investigate word order and verbal movement in Moroccan Arabic in the Minimalist framework. We observe that the unmarked word order in MA is SVO while the derived structure is VSO. SVO follows an English-like derivation where the subject moves from [Spec, vP] to [Spec, TP] whilst the verb moves from v to T. This paper raises the issue of the verbal movement when it comes to VSO order in languages that have VSO as the derived order and SVO as the underlying order. To derive VSO, we propose that the verb moves from T to Focus based on pragmatic reasons: verbs positioned in the left-periphery denote new information that is focused compared to SVO. We also test our new proposal against the marginal word orders OSV and OVS and propose that object topicalization is the result of the object moving to [Spec, TopicP] which dominates FocusP. Moreover, we go back to the issue of verbal movement and trace the verbal cyclic movement. We argue that the verb moves from V to v based on the position of the adverb. The verb further moves to T based on the quantifier evidence and feature checking: Focus and T form a complex and probe into v to check [TNS] and [V] features. Moreover, T-to-Focus occurs in wh-constructions except when /lli/ 'that' is present. In WH-VO (WH as a wh-subject), the verb stays in T while the wh-subject stays in [Spec, TP]. If /lli/ 'that' is present, then the wh-subject is forced to move further to [Spec, FocusP]. In WH-SV, the wh-elements move to [Spec, FocusP] while the subject moves to [Spec, TopicP] and the verb moves to Topic. In WH-VS, the wh-elements move to [Spec, FocusP] while the verb moves to Focus.
... Secondly, there is some related evidence from phonological processes that the reduction of the number of syllables satisfies what we may call, following Boeckx (2006), a general economy principle that operates at the interface levels. Soltan (2007) assumes that agreement is a syntactic relation that takes place at a distance rather than in a spec-head configuration. In addition, he assumes that T has three non-interpretable features: Ф-features (for person and number features only), CLASS feature (which appears as a gender feature), and an EPP (Extended Projection Principle) feature. ...
... [ (Soltan, 2007;Smith, 2003;Postal, 2007;Lasnik, 1999;Mahmoud, 1996;McCloskey, 1986). ...
... Secondly, there is some related evidence from phonological processes that the reduction of the number of syllables satisfies what we may call, following Boeckx (2006), a general economy principle that operates at the interface levels. Soltan (2007) assumes that agreement is a syntactic relation that takes place at a distance rather than in a spec-head configuration. In addition, he assumes that T has three non-interpretable features: Ф-features (for person and number features only), CLASS feature (which appears as a gender feature), and an EPP (Extended Projection Principle) feature. ...
... [ (Soltan, 2007;Smith, 2003;Postal, 2007;Lasnik, 1999;Mahmoud, 1996;McCloskey, 1986). ...
Agreement asymmetry is one of the significant linguistic phenomena that Arab and Western linguists (Ghaly,1995; Parkinson, 1995; Benmamoun,1998; Collins, 2001; Dayf, 1986) and Aoun, 1994) have tried to account for within the framework of the Government and Binding theory. They focused upon the number asymmetry in different varieties in Arabic. Most linguists assert that in different types of Arabic there is always gender agreement between the subject and the verb. This study aims at giving much evidence for the lack of gender agreement in Modern Standard Arabic(MSA), and at accounting this gender asymmetry within the framework of the Minimality Program (Chomsky, 1995). The sample consists of 37 sentences collected from some Arabic textbooks. To analyze the data collected, a qualitative diagnostic research design was adopted. One of the essential findings of this study is that there is no gender agreement in Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) sentences between the postverbal subject and the verb if the subject is (a) an unreal feminine Noun Phrase (NP), (b) a broken plural NP, (c) an inanimate collective NP, (d) a collective NP, (e) a regular sound feminine plural NP, (f) an irregular sound feminine plural NP, (g) an irregular sound masculine plural NP, and (h) a real feminine NP separated from its verb by any category. This study concludes that the head C in VSO sentences in MSA carries a weak gender feature represented as [-Strong]. Therefore, in VSO sentences, if the verb disagrees with its subject in gender, it will move from V to I and then to C because C is [-Strong]. A final conclusion is that the head I in VSO sentences in MSA carries a strong gender feature, represented as [+Strong]. Therefore, in VSO sentences, if the verb and its subject agree in gender, the verb will move from V to I; it will not move further.
... Scholars such as Doner (2013), Aoun, Benmamoun, and Choueiri (2010), Rouveret (2010), Al-Horais (2009), Soltan (2007), McCloskey (2001) Carnie, Harley, and Pyatt (2000), Ouhalla (1994Ouhalla ( , 1996, AL-Shorafat (1998), and Aoun, Benmamoun, and Sportiche (1994) and Mohammed (1989) have investigated verb movement in a variety of languages having VSO word order. Their studies examine feature-checking systems such as EPP, phi-features, T, and case in order to determine the surface word order for each of the languages considered. ...
... Their studies examine feature-checking systems such as EPP, phi-features, T, and case in order to determine the surface word order for each of the languages considered. Mohammed (1989), Ouhalla (1994), Benmamoun, and Sportiche (1994), Soltan (2007), and Aoun, Benmamoun, and Choueiri (2010) claim that Modern Standard Arabic has both a VSO word order and an SVO word order. This indicates some differences in the feature-checking system or the presence of a strong/weak feature which is responsible for the two-word orders in MSA. ...
Interrogative structures have been investigated in wide range of languages including but not limited to English, Italian, French, and Mandarin Chinese. Thus, this paper presents an analysis of the syntactic structure of yes/no questions based on feature-checking analysis (i.e., [Q], phi-features, [T], [Polarity], and EPP). First, I briefly discuss the feature-checking analysis in the declarative clauses in Modern Standard Arabic. Then, I analyze the interrogative structure in main clauses (hal, ʔa-) and in embedded clauses (idhaa) in MSA. Finally, this paper displays and discusses the findings showing that there are three types of feature-checking in yes/no particles in Modern Standard Arabic.
... Secondly, there is some related evidence from phonological processes that the reduction of the number of syllables satisfies what we may call, following Boeckx (2006), a general economy principle that operates at the interface levels. Soltan (2007) assumes that agreement is a syntactic relation that takes place at a distance rather than in a spec-head configuration. In addition, he assumes that T has three non-interpretable features: Ф-features (for person and number features only), CLASS feature (which appears as a gender feature), and an EPP (Extended Projection Principle) feature. ...
... [ (Soltan, 2007;Smith, 2003;Postal, 2007;Lasnik, 1999;Mahmoud, 1996;McCloskey, 1986). ...
Agreement asymmetry is one of the significant linguistic phenomena that Arab and Western linguists (Ghaly,1995; Parkinson, 1995; Benmamoun,1998; Collins, 2001; Dayf, 1986) and Aoun, 1994) have tried to account for within the framework of the Government and Binding theory. They focused upon the number asymmetry in different varieties in Arabic. Most linguists assert that in different types of Arabic there is always gender agreement between the subject and the verb. This study aims at giving much evidence for the lack of gender agreement in Modern Standard Arabic(MSA), and at accounting this gender asymmetry within the framework of the Minimality Program (Chomsky, 1995). The sample consists of 37 sentences collected from some Arabic textbooks. To analyze the data collected, a qualitative diagnostic research design was adopted. One of the essential findings of this study is that there is no gender agreement in Verb-Subject-Object (VSO) sentences between the postverbal subject and the verb if the subject is (a) an unreal feminine Noun Phrase (NP), (b) a broken plural NP, (c) an inanimate collective NP, (d) a collective NP, (e) a regular sound feminine plural NP, (f) an irregular sound feminine plural NP, (g) an irregular sound masculine plural NP, and (h) a real feminine NP separated from its verb by any category. This study concludes that the head C in VSO sentences in MSA carries a weak gender feature represented as [-Strong]. Therefore, in VSO sentences, if the verb disagrees with its subject in gender, it will move from V to I and then to C because C is [-Strong]. A final conclusion is that the head I in VSO sentences in MSA carries a strong gender feature, represented as [+Strong]. Therefore, in VSO sentences, if the verb and its subject agree in gender, the verb will move from V to I; it will not move further.
... Examining the SA literature in more depth, this phenomenon exhibits two primary word order alternations, namely SVO and VSO (Mohammed, 1991(Mohammed, , 2000Fassi-Fehri, 1993;Soltan, 2007; Alsager, 2017, 2020; Alsager & Mahzari, 2021; Fakih, 2014b, 2015, 2016, among others). In terms of agreement, these changes form an asymmetry that is referred to as subject-verb agreement asymmetry. ...
This study focuses on the description of argument structure and word order in Saudi Sign language (SSL). The nature of the syntactic level of the grammar of SSL is clarified. Since word order is often considered the most important part of grammar, this study details the various options that are available for the major constituents (Subject, Verb, and Object) in SSL independent of any connection to spoken Arabic syntax. In SSL, like in other languages, the nature of the arguments (Subject, Object) and the kind of verb can impact the word order. To investigate word order in SSL, which is based on Chomsky’s (1995) Minimalist Program (MP), data were collected through derivation of data from narratives (semi-naturalistic-corpus) and an experiment (picture-description task). This research involved a sample of 10 deaf signing participants who are all fluent in SSL. All the participants have lived in Saudi Arabia for at least 10 years. Results indicate that the SSL is as any natural language and from the spoken language in Saudi Arabia. The most common word order in declaratives and the basic constituent order in SSL is SVO. As in virtually all sign languages, Wh-elements in SSL occur at the end of the clause. According to research on the interaction between word order and grammatical use of facial expressions and head locations (nonmanual marking), nonmanual markings have pragmatic purposes and may have syntactic functions.
... their availability with cognate objects). Also, the existence of A-movement in MSA is challenged in Soltan (2007) and Al-Balushi (2011). Whether these verbs are true unaccusative or not, and whether A-movement exists in MSA or not, the case assigned to the nominal is always nominative. ...
Research on dedicated impersonal pronouns in Germanic and Romance has shown
a correlation between a pronoun’s reading and its case. In particular, impersonal pronouns
that are exclusively generic (e.g. English one) can bear any case, whereas those that can
be either generic or existential (e.g. Dutch men) can only bear nominative case. Moreover,
there is a general consensus in the literature that both types of impersonal pronouns radically lack phi-feature specification, viz. the pronouns are underspecified for person, number, and gender features in the syntax. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first to discuss the impersonal use of the pronoun waaħad (one) in Jordanian Arabic (JA) and its implications for the crosslinguistic typology of impersonal pronouns, and second to argue that a radical feature deficiency approach to these pronouns is inaccurate. Regarding the first point, we show that waaħad behaves similarly to English-type pronouns in terms of its interpretation and syntactic distribution. JA waaħad can only have a generic inclusive reading and can appear in multiple syntactic positions. As for the second point, we show that waaħad is not completely phi-defective. The JA pronoun patterns with crosslinguistically recognized impersonal pronouns by being underspecified for person. However, independent empirical evidence from agreement shows that waaħad is always specified for singular number and also for gender in some contexts.
This novel data from JA suggest a rethinking of the radical feature deficiency approach to
impersonal pronouns. Additionally, we provide evidence for the presence of a DP projection above impersonal waaħad that is overtly instantiated via the definite article il- (the). Our findings show that impersonal pronouns are not radically devoid of phi-features. Whereas impersonal pronouns share the core property of being underspecified for person, some pronouns are specified for number and also for gender in the syntax.
... In some cases, these variations may be vastly different to the extent that they are not intelligible to other speakers of Arabic dialects (e.g., the difference between Yemeni and Moroccan dialects). Despite their differences, Arabic dialects are still classified as variations of the same language because they differ on the lexical and phonological levels (Albirini, 2016) rather than the structure (Aoun et al., 2010;Benmamoun, 2000;Soltan, 2007). Such dialects are regularly used 'in everyday conversations and other informal communicative exchanges: sports, music, film, and some TV show broadcasts' (Albirini, 2016, p. 13). ...
Language has a salient role of indicating group membership and is considered a symbol of different social identities. Within the Arabic language, variation across countries and regions creates multiple identities, and the classification of the Arabic language into Standard Arabic (SA) and dialects has long been creating controversial positions about issues such as the extent to which groups of speakers of different dialects might be intelligible to one another, what language behavior could be an indication of the individual’s identity and group belongingness, and what the role of SA is in establishing a unified identity or, possibly, in creating more diversity among Arabs’ identities. The representation of individuals’ identity through SA in Arabic drama is more distinct; while SA is used in specific types of drama, usually historical drama reflecting a specific period of time in history, drama that reflects daily life of Arabs adopts non-standard varieties (i.e. dialects). This position about how SA and non-SA are used in drama creates a rigid line of what identity SA might reveal and how different this ‘identity’ could be from authentic identities that are articulated through living dialects. This chapter utilizes Discourse Analysis (DA) to unmask how multiple identities are represented through three Arabic varieties (SA, Sudanese and Egyptian varieties) in Khawaja Abdulqader, which is a popular Arabic drama on Gulf TV channels. Along with developing a record for the analysis and findings of the similarities and differences between the morphology features of Gulf Arabic and these three varieties, this chapter supports through this drama the position that while Arabic varieties (including SA) might reveal diversity and multiple identities of their speakers, variation causes a unified rather than divided identity among Arab speakers.
... I. The idea that Agree may not culminate successfully may not be severely problematic or cause a crash (Béjar, 2003;Soltan, 2007;Nevins, 2011;Preminger, 2014;Preminger & Polinsky, 2015; among many others). ...
A Handout for my dissertation
... For good reason, this argument from plural anaphora is often used to show that the conjuncts result from phrasal coordination, and that the verb shows partial agreement with the first conjunct (Doron 2000;Johannessen 1996;Soltan 2007). ...
Partial agreement refers to sentences that have conjoined subjects but a singular verb. Although word order is commonly cited in the Biblical Hebrew literature as affecting partial agreement, there is no consensus regarding such an effect. This syntactic study of all clauses with a compound subject in Genesis–2 Kings reveals that a singular verb always agrees with the initial conjunct. The results are incorporated in a cross-linguistic typology of partial agreement. Other key results are that only a coordinate compound headed by an R-expression (rather than a pronoun) is a subject, and that partial agreement is the dominant pattern when the verb and first conjunct are contiguous. A two-step process of Agree—first in syntax and then in phonology—is able to produce the optional partial agreement patterns, laying a better foundation for future studies to analyse the semantic and discourse-analysis effects on verb agreement.
... Benmamoun 2000; Aoun et al. 2010), whereas others claim that it is above TP (e.g. Soltan 2007). An initial investigation of negation in SA suggests that the latter approach might be the correct one for SA negation, as evidenced by the relative position of negative morpheme with respect to the auxiliary, as in (196) (2015,17) suggests that "aspect is morphologically encoded by the position and phonological realization of the agreement marking on the verb". ...
This dissertation explores the syntactic and semantic properties of implicit arguments in various voice constructions, such as active and passive voice, applicatives, causatives and impersonals, using mainly Sason Arabic (SA) and Turkish as empirical starting points. I add to the typology of null arguments, further demonstrating that they do not form a homogeneous category (e.g. Williams 1985; Rizzi 1986; Bhatt and Pancheva 2017; Landau 2010). My investigation reveals (at least) four types of implicit arguments in languages under investigation in terms of their semantic properties and syntactic visibility: (i) an existentially closed passive agent, (ii) a full DP, (iii) a free variable, and (iv) an impersonal pronoun. Establishing a distinction in Turkish between two constructions with identical morphology, i.e., passive and impersonal, I show that the implicit agent of passive is unprojected, whereas the null impersonal pronoun is fully projected. I also demonstrate that purported ‘passives of passives’ in Turkish are in fact impersonals of passives, and passives cannot iterate. This follows from an analysis of passive as a subtype of Voice, the head that introduces the external θ-role (following Legate 2014). I compare the null impersonal with the overt impersonal insan ‘human’ in Turkish, indicating that they exhibit distinct behavior. I also provide a syntactic analysis of the passive that confirms and captures the generalization that passive cannot iterate (Perlmutter and Postal 1977). The approach to passive adopted in the dissertation predicts that an active-passive-like alternation should be available to other functional categories, such as ApplP or CauseeP. Accordingly, I investigate several morphological and periphrastic causative constructions from SA and Turkish, arguing that this prediction is borne out. While all the causatives embed a second VoiceP, the behavior of this VoiceP varies across causative constructions: some are like the canonical, agentive VoiceP, whereas the behavior of others warrants identifying them as distinct categories, specifically VoicecauseeP or CauseeP. Furthermore, the investigation of ‘make’ causatives in SA reveals that the embedded agent may be present (i) as a free variable on thematic, active Voice head (à la Heim 1982) without needing a specifier or (ii) as a full DP, which is separated from its licensor by a phase domain and needs to Ā-move to be (Case)-licensed.
... One is the free interjection laʔ, which is similar to the English no. The other two particles are the non-discontinuous miš (sometimes muš) and the discontinuous ma-š (Brustad 2000;Woidich 2006;Soltan 2007). For these it is possible to assume a single morpheme /m…š/ with two allomorphic realizations: the free allomorph miš and the bound allomorph ma-š, which are associated with predicate negation and verbal negation, respectively (see Brustad 2000). ...
This paper examines and compares the acquisition of negation by children acquiring Cairene Arabic and English as first languages. It was found that the development of this syntactic marker goes through three comparable stages in both languages. My analysis shows that the acquisition of negation matches the complexity of the negative syntactic formations at each stage. Moreover, I argue that the frequency of the input hypothesis does not provide an accurate explanation for the progression patterns. Overall, the observed parallelisms indicate that there is a cross-linguistically uniform line of acquiring syntactic structures.
... (2) a. zayd-an sˤa:fa h-tu Zayd-ACC greet.PST-1SG 'It was Zayd that I greeted.' b. ʔakal-tu hari:d-an eat.PST-1SG tharid-ACC 'I ate tharid.' Thetic sentences in Standard Arabic express all-new information and normally occur in VSO clauses (see Soltan 2007). An example of a VSO clause is shown in (3). ...
This study shows that the discourse particle tara in Jordanian Arabic identifies whether its utterance presents new or given information. In other words, there exists a relation between the presence of this particle (i.e., its position) and the type of information packaging of its utterance. When tara appears utterance-initially, the accompanying utterance is presented as being in sentence focus (i.e., as all-new). By contrast, when tara appears utterance-finally, the accompanying utterance is presented as all-given, and the hearer in such cases is instructed to pay attention to the content of the utterance which he/she should be previously aware of, from the speaker’s perspective. Additionally, this paper shows that tara can be used as a topic marker when it appears utterance-internally. In such cases, tara is preceded by the element(s) expressing Referential Topic(s) (RTop) (cf. Cruschina 2012) which convey the shared and anaphoric information with respect to the interlocutors’ mental state and previous discourse.
... It leads to the problem of the verb occupying a position higher than the negative element to check its Tense and phi-features. In order to avoid this problem, Soltan (2007) proposes alternative analysis which he bases on the feature-checking theory presented within the framework of the MP (Chomsky 1993 and. He suggests that the negative head is positioned higher than TP and has the feature {+Tense}. ...
... The subject-verb agreement is manifested in MSA as an inflection on the verb regardless of the realization of the subject (i.e., being overt or covert). (For more discussion on verbal agreement, seeSaeed (2011), Soltan (2007, and Fassi Fehri (1993), among others.) Notice that in ...
Double object construction (DOC) seems to be attested across languages and thus has received much attention among linguists since eighties. It has been attested in literature that passivization patterns in double object/applicative constructions are of different types (i.e., symmetric and asymmetric). Different syntactic accounts have been proposed to account for such symmetric and asymmetric typology. In this paper, I propose an analysis that accounts for passivization of DOC in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). The analysis is based on the recent minimalist framework of which assumes an Agree relation to be established at distance. In addition, the paper argues that the proposed account can be generalized to accommodate the cross-linguistic passivization patterns. The paper also proposes an alternative analysis that can capture the cross-linguistic symmetric vs. asymmetric distinction.
... Many interesting studies have looked at this phenomenon of subjects and topics' positions. (Benmamoun, 1994;Soltan, 2007;Aoun et al., 2010;Al-Balushi, 2011;Saeed, 2011) pronominals. Examples from Tihami Yemeni Arabic (TYA) also show that pronominals (14a-b) and nominals (14c) can be postverbal or preverbal in (14d) More data on TYA and on this regard can be checked in Al-Sharafi (2014). ...
This paper examines the early acquisition of null subjects and overt subjects and how they are distributed and realized in the early speech of Arabic dialect-speaking children. ① The study accounts for the phenomenon of subjects by examining a longitudinal corpus of two children, Wala and Ibraheem, who were around two years old, speaking Yemeni Ibbi Arabic (YIA) dialect. The production and elicited production data collection methods were used in the study to collect the corpus during five months. The results of the study showed that null-subjects appear with a high proportion compared to the overt subjects. It was found that null subjects and overt subjects in the speech of Ibraheem and Wala had a similar distribution in the imperfective and the perfective, of which 86-87% are null subjects and 12-14% are overt subjects. The paper examined the widespread linguistic phenomenon of Null Subject Parameter acquisition, (Rizzi, 1982; Hyams, 1986, 1989) that is emergence of null subjects in line with overt subjects. The paper supports Hyam's (1982) argument on the acquisition of Null Subject Parameter where we can find children acquire null subjects early around 2 years of age. In contrast to non-null subject languages (like English), Null Subject Languages (NSLs) like Arabic happen to have null subjects appear more frequently and this is due to the rich inflectional morphology of NSLs.
... Many interesting studies have looked at this phenomenon of subjects and topics' positions. (Benmamoun, 1994;Soltan, 2007;Aoun et al., 2010;Al-Balushi, 2011;Saeed, 2011) pronominals. Examples from Tihami Yemeni Arabic (TYA) also show that pronominals (14a-b) and nominals (14c) can be postverbal or preverbal in (14d) More data on TYA and on this regard can be checked in Al-Sharafi (2014). ...
This paper examines the early acquisition of null subjects and overt subjects and how they are distributed and realized in the early speech of Arabic dialect-speaking children.[ Acknowledgments: I am very grateful to Prof. Shruti Sircar, Prof. Abdualhfeed Al-Fakih and Dr. Fauzia Abdullah for their constant comments and support. Our sincere thanks and gratitude go to all the participants and children’s families and all participants in the study. We are really grateful to all of them for their patience and support during data collection recordings.] The study accounts for the phenomenon of subjects by examining a longitudinal corpus of two children, Wala and Ibraheem, who were around two years old, speaking Yemeni Ibbi Arabic (YIA) dialect. The production and elicited production data collection methods were used in the study to collect the corpus during five months. The results of the study showed that null-subjects appear with a high proportion compared to the overt subjects. It was found that null subjects and overt subjects in the speech of Ibraheem and Wala had a similar distribution in the imperfective and the perfective, of which 86-87% are null subjects and 12-14% are overt subjects. The paper examined the widespread linguistic phenomenon of Null Subject Parameter acquisition, (Rizzi, 1982; Hyams, 1986, 1989) that is emergence of null subjects in line with overt subjects. The paper supports Hyam’s (1982) argument on the acquisition of Null Subject Parameter where we can find children acquire null subjects early around 2 years of age. In contrast to non-null subject languages (like English), Null Subject Languages (NSLs) like Arabic happen to have null subjects appear more frequently and this is due to the rich inflectional morphology of NSLs.
... Following traditional grammar, Al-Balushi (2010, 2011), Al-Horais (2009), Soltan (2007) and AlQahtani (2016 argue that post-verbal DPs are the only subjects in Arabic verbal clauses whereas preverbal DPs are not. In other words, they claim that Spec,VP is the only subject position in VSO clauses; the preverbal DP in SVO clauses is a topic (mubtadaa), not a subject. ...
This paper focuses on the obligatory movement operations that Najdi Arabic (NA) verb forms must undergo to satisfy the morphosyntactic requirements within the minimalist program (MP). Recall that the practice of the MP syntactic theory, including its further advancements, proposed by Chomsky (1995, 2000, 2001) springs from the fact that the grammar of a language starts basically from the lexicon from which suitable words are selected to form clauses. The selected words undergo some syntactic operations such as Merge, by which larger constituents are formed, and Move, by which the formed constituents move to higher positions in the hierarchy to fulfil some specific syntactic purposes. When the elements have undergone the operations of Merge and Move they are spelled out into phonetic forms (PF) and logical forms (LF). In light of this, we argue that NA verbs start out as roots in the head of VP before merging with the vocalic affixes in the head of Tax-AspP to satisfy the subjectverb agreement requirements and mark the aspect features. Perfective verb forms must then continue to move to T to merge with the past tense abstract features while imperfective forms stay in Tax-AspP. The thematic subject is generated in Spec,VP; it may stay there to derive the VSO order, or move higher to derive the SVO order. The findings show that obligatory movements indicate interactions between the functional categories of TP, Tax-AspP and VP: NA verbal roots obligatorily move to Tax-Asp to derive (im)perfective forms; perfectives obligatorily move to T.
... I assume that the pronoun in this example is not the same PE that occurs in other Arabic copular clauses, but is instead just a regular pronominal subject (i.e., the subject of a predicate). Note that the DP Zaynab is a topic that is base-generated in the left-dislocated position, such as Spec-TP or Spec-CP (see Soltan, 2007). Furthermore, there appears to be a short pause after the pronunciation of the left-dislocated DP. ...
In Arabic, a pronominal element (PE) (Note 1) appears in almost all copular clause types, specifically the specificational, identificational, and identity clauses, as well as in clauses with a post-copular definite description. It is obligatory in an identity clause consisting of proper nouns and is otherwise optional. However, the PE cannot be used in Arabic predicational clauses. This paper examines the nature of this PE, why it is illicit in the predicational clause and licit in all other types, and why it is obligatory only in the identity clause consisting of proper nouns and is otherwise optional. It suggests that the PE is a realization of the F head (the identity predicate) in the structure of the identity clause. The illicit use of the PE in the predicational clause follows from the presence of predicative expressions in this type of clause. Lastly, it is shown that the PE is obligatory only in an identity clause involving proper nouns to avoid ambiguity, and is otherwise optional.
Cette thèse a pour objectif l’étude des formes négatives en arabe standard. Une attention particulière est portée aux formes qui recourent aux morphèmes /laː/ et /ɣajr/. L’usage de /laː/ et /ɣajr/ en lieu et place de /lajsa/ soulève des questions sur l’exacte nature de ces deux morphèmes et les raisons pour lesquelles seuls eux deux peuvent être mis en œuvre dans la négation morphologique. Il serait intéressant de comprendre dans quelle mesure la négation de l’adjectif et du nom par /la:/ et /ɣajr/ est différente de celle faite par /lajsa/ et par tout autre morphème négatif. De même, il conviendrait de définir les propriétés morpho-syntaxiques et sémantiques permettant à l’un et l’autre morphème de non seulement nier un constituant spécifique dans la phrase (un adjectif ou un nom) mais surtout d’interagir avec l’adjectif nié et avec le nom modifié en termes de traits de cas, de définitude, de genre et de nombre. Les propriétés morphosyntaxiques et sémantiques de ces deux morphèmes ainsi que leur portée de négation seront étudiées en lien étroit avec leurs contextes d’apparition et leur comportement vis-à-vis de certaines catégories grammaticales comme le cas et la définitude. Pour ce faire, nous nous intéressons aux différents registres de la langue arabe, surtout, à l’arabe standard, langue de notre corpus, à sa répartition géographie et à ses différentes utilisations dans les médias et les journaux. Nous étudions, ensuite, les éléments morphosyntaxiques de la phrase en arabe, en allant de la syntaxe de la phrase à la morphologie du mot. Puis, nous analysons les deux types de négation en arabe standard : la négation syntaxique et la négation morphologique. Nous abordons la distribution syntaxique et morphologique des marqueurs négatifs (/laː/, /lam/, /lan/, lajsa/ et /maː/), ainsi que les propriétés morphosyntaxiques et distributionnelles des marqueurs négatifs en usage dans la négation morphologique /laː/ et /ɣajr/. Ensuite, nous examinons les constructions qui contiennent les deux marqueurs négatifs /laː/ et /ɣajr/ et analysons leurs comportements selon les différents contextes dans le but d’expliciter leurs propriétés morphosyntaxiques et sémantiques. Nous examinons, également, la différence en termes de structure morphosyntaxique entre des constructions incluant /laː/ et /ɣajr/ pour former une négation dite morphologique et celles d’autres marqueurs négatifs qui représentent la négation syntaxique selon l’approche nanosyntaxique. Enfin, nous soulignons les points communs et les différences qui caractérisent les deux marqueurs négatifs /laː/ et /ɣajr/ en termes de portée et de constructions syntaxiques.
This research article provides evidence from Jordanian Arabic (JA) that passive predicates, unlike unaccusative predicates, project phases. Two tests are formulated to demonstrate this difference, namely long-distance agreement (between T⁰ and the internal argument) and quantifier stranding. Following Alexiadou et al. (2006), Alexiadou and Doron (2012) and Bruening (2013), we attribute this difference between passive and unaccusative predicates to the presence of Voice Phrase in the former but not the latter. In so doing, this article challenges a number of assumptions that equally qualify passive and unaccusative predicates as phases, or lack thereof, in natural languages (see e.g., Chomsky 2000; Legate 2003; Centeno and Vicente 2008; Deal 2009).
Arabic linguistics encompasses a range of language forms and functions from formal to informal, classical to contemporary, written to spoken, all of which have vastly different research traditions. Recently however, the increasing prominence of new methodologies such as corpus linguistics and sociolinguistics have allowed Arabic linguistics to be studied from multiple perspectives, revealing key discoveries about the nature of Arabic-in-use and deeper knowledge of traditional fields of study. With contributions from internationally renowned experts on the language, this handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview of both traditional and modern topics in Arabic linguistics. Chapters are divided into six thematic areas: applied Arabic linguistics, variation and sociolinguistics, theoretical studies, computational and corpus linguistics, new media studies and Arabic linguistics in literature and translation. It is an essential resource for students and researchers wishing to explore the exciting and rapidly moving field of Arabic linguistics.
This paper addresses case assignment in Standard Arabic (SA). It shows that the current Agree-based accounts of case in SA are problematic, as they face problems accounting for case assignment in complex event nominals. Using Baker’s (2015) dependent case theory, we argue that there are two modalities of structural case assignment in SA, i.e., the dependent case and the Agree-based case, and that the latter is only available when the former fails to apply. It is also argued that case assignment takes place at Spell Out, the point where phase heads are merged into the structure. We provide evidence that vP in SA is a soft phase and we claim that v in SA is incapable of assigning the accusative case to the object, due to v’s deficiency. We also claim that a DP of the complex nominal type in SA is a hard phase. SA PRO is argued to lack a case feature, and it is therefore neither a proper goal for case in the Agree-based case mechanism, nor is it a proper case trigger/competitor in the dependent case mechanism. We believe that the proposed account solves the problems that previous accounts of case in SA face.
This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of wh-question formation in Jordanian Arabic (JA) and presents a uniform approach that can accommodate all of its various wh-constructions. JA makes use of five different wh-constructions, four of which involve clause-initial wh-phrases and the fifth is a typical in-situ wh-construction. Although wh-phrases surface clause-initially in four different wh-constructions in JA, I propose that bona fide wh-movement to [Spec, CP] does not occur in any of these constructions, whether overtly in syntax or covertly at LF. I abandon the classification of JA as a wh-movement language (Abdel Razaq 2011) and focus instead on identifying the syntactic role that wh-phrases realize and the underlying structures that feed each wh-construction. I propose that the clause-initial position of the wh-phrase results either from the syntactic function that the wh-phrase serves or from other syntactic operations that are independently attested in JA. There are three clause-initial positions that the wh-phrase can occupy: it surfaces in [Spec, TP] when functioning as the subject of a verbal or verbless structure, in [Spec, TopP] when functioning as a clitic-left-dislocated element (as in CLLD questions and ʔilli-interrogatives involving PRON), or in [Spec, FocP] when undergoing focus fronting. Thus, all instances of clause-initial wh-phrases in JA constitute what I refer to as-pseudo wh-fronting‖, as the clause-initial position of the wh-phrase arises from mechanisms other than canonical wh-movement to [Spec, CP]. To account for the interpretation of wh-phrases in JA, I adopt a binding approach in which a null interrogative morpheme (Baker 1970; Pesetsky 1987; Chomsky 1995) unselectively binds the wh-phrase regardless of its surface position, whether clause-initial or clause-internal (in-situ). A major implication of this analysis is that JA is a concealed wh-in-situ language of the Chinese type although it looks at a cursory glance as though it were a wh-movement language of the English type. A broader typological implication of my analysis is the convergence of Cheng's (1991) Clausal Typing Hypothesis to which JA previously appeared to constitute a counterexample. The recognition of the null interrogative particle, or its optional overt realization as the Q-particle huwweh, as the locus of interrogative clause typing in all JA wh-questions entails that JA employs just one unique strategy to type a clause as a wh-question, as predicted by Cheng's Clausal Typing Hypothesis, regardless of whether the wh-phrase surfaces clause-initially or clause-internally. ii
This paper investigates the relevance of some syntactic principles in Generative Grammar. Specifically, the objective is to highlight the conflict between economy and uniformity in syntactic theory. This conflict is illustrated by some elements of wh-questions. Using the Minimalist Program as a current syntactic 'approach', we take MA wh-elements as a case study to test the relationship between the two principles. We, first, survey the importance of economy in the language itself. Second, we bring examples of the conflict in wh-interrogatives, specifically in wh-subjects, wh-objects, yes-no questions, and the [Q] feature. The significance of the research is that, in the absence of empirical evidence for uniformity, economy should be prioritized.
The paper examines the properties of sentential negation in Standard Arabic (henceforth SA) and Saudi Northern Region Dialect of Arabic (henceforth SNRDA), focusing on similarities and differences in use and distribution (Note 1). In this paper, I propose that that the sentential negation facts of standard and dialectal versions of Arabic receive a unified account despite their apparent differences. I provide some empirical and conceptual evidence of the workability for the Neg-Above-T analysis over the Neg-Below-T analysis. NegP cannot remain lower than TP in Standard Arabic as the language employs V-to-T raising to drive the VSO from SVO word order. NegP in SNRDA should be higher than TP as it precedes non-verbal predicates (nominals, adjectivals, prepositionals, and adverbials) and some TP/CP located elements (expletive/ (indefinite) pronominal subjects and the future tense expressing element raaħ, and adverbials hosting pronoun subject clitics like ʕumri/uh.
The existential sentence is a noncanonical sentence type that is used crosslinguistically to assert the (non)existence of one or more entities. It consists of a set of syntactic items that includes an expletive, pivot, and coda. Two different syntactic analyses have been identified in the literature for the existential construction. The first type of analysis, the standard analysis, treats the existential sentence as a nonraising counterpart of copular sentences. In this analysis, both existential and copular sentences are derived from a single underlying structure, which takes the pivot as a subject and the coda as a predicate. The other type of analysis, the nonstandard analysis, treats the existential sentence differently from the copular sentence. In this analysis, the copular verb takes the pivot NP as its complement, and the coda is treated as an adjunct. The purpose of this paper is to examine the syntactic status of the three syntactic items, namely, the expletive fiih, the pivot NP, and the coda XP, in the existential construction in the dialect of Najdi Arabic (NA). Using the nonstandard analysis, I propose that the existential pronoun fiih is an NP merged in the Spec, vP, the pivot is an NP complement selected by a copular verb, and the coda is an adjunct that serves as either an internal or external modifier. This work about NA existentials may fruitfully contribute to the ongoing discussion on the syntax of existential constructions. Examining existential constructions in various unrelated languages may help obtain a better understanding of this interesting syntactic phenomenon, thereby enabling a more plausible analysis.
In this pioneering study, a world-renowned generative syntactician explores the impact of phenomena known as 'third factors' on syntactic change. Generative syntax has in recent times incorporated third factors – factors not specific to the language faculty – into its framework, including minimal search, labelling, determinacy and economy. Van Gelderen's study applies these principles to language change, arguing that change is a cyclical process, and that third factor principles must combine with linguistic information to fully account for the cyclical development of 'optimal' language structures. Third Factor Principles also account for language variation around that-trace phenomena, CP-deletion, and the presence of expletives and Verb-second. By linking insights from recent theoretical advances in generative syntax to phenomena from language variation and change, this book provides a unique perspective, making it essential reading for academic researchers and students in syntactic theory and historical linguistics.
In this pioneering study, a world-renowned generative syntactician explores the impact of phenomena known as 'third factors' on syntactic change. Generative syntax has in recent times incorporated third factors – factors not specific to the language faculty – into its framework, including minimal search, labelling, determinacy and economy. Van Gelderen's study applies these principles to language change, arguing that change is a cyclical process, and that third factor principles must combine with linguistic information to fully account for the cyclical development of 'optimal' language structures. Third Factor Principles also account for language variation around that-trace phenomena, CP-deletion, and the presence of expletives and Verb-second. By linking insights from recent theoretical advances in generative syntax to phenomena from language variation and change, this book provides a unique perspective, making it essential reading for academic researchers and students in syntactic theory and historical linguistics.
Our understanding of the syntax of natural language and syntactic aspects that obtain across languages and other aspects that display variation has greatly benefited from research on a large number of languages representing a diversity of language families learned natively in their own contexts. We have a better understanding, for example, of the complexity of word order, agreement, case, questions, relative clauses, anaphoric dependencies, etc. As our empirical generalizations continue to be sharpened and refined, the Generative approach, particularly in its Minimalist version, has also been focusing on isolating properties of core syntax, such as Merge (both Internal and External) and the features and units that go into building syntactic structure and driving the different syntactic dependencies. Research on heritage languages has the potential to contribute to that debate. This chapter discusses some of the results of that research and its implications for the debate about Merge, movement, and the notion of root as an essential building block of syntactic structure.
Heritage languages are minority languages learned in a bilingual environment. These include immigrant languages, aboriginal or indigenous languages and historical minority languages. In the last two decades, heritage languages have become central to many areas of linguistic research, from bilingual language acquisition, education and language policies, to theoretical linguistics. Bringing together contributions from a team of internationally renowned experts, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview of this emerging area of study from a number of different perspectives, ranging from theoretical linguistics to language education and pedagogy. Presenting comprehensive data on heritage languages from around the world, it covers issues ranging from individual aspects of heritage language knowledge to broader societal, educational, and policy concerns in local, global and international contexts. Surveying the most current issues and trends in this exciting field, it is essential reading for graduate students and researchers, as well as language practitioners and other language professionals.
This paper considers the well-known puzzling phenomenon of subject–verb agreement asymmetry in Arabic: full agreement surfaces in SV word order, whereas VS order manifests partial agreement. That is, agreement in all phi-features surfaces only when the subject moves to a preverbal position. To avoid (apparently inevitable) circularity of earlier analyses, the paper offers a minimalist, phase-based analysis to the phenomenon. Two ingredients to the analysis are proposed: phase sliding, according to which a phase extends if its phase head moves. More precisely, T becomes a (sort of) phase head when after v-T movement. The other element is a morphological rule, Morphological Agreement Realization (MAR), to the effect that morphological agreement surfaces iff the probe and goal are spelled out in the same phase. Thus, it turns out that in VS word order, the subject and the verb are spelled out in different phases. In SV constructions, on the other hand, both the subject and the verb are spelled out in the same phase. Hence, the agreement asymmetry. The analysis is supported by certain phonological phenomena.
The paper investigates the syntax and semantics of an indirect causative construction, ‘make’ causatives, in Sason Arabic with a focus on the syntax of the embedded structure and the status of the implicit embedded agent. On the basis of several diagnostics, the study demonstrates that ‘make’ embeds an agentive VoiceP, which also manifests an active-passive alternation despite the absence of any morphological reflex. Regarding the nature of the implicit embedded agent, the paper argues that it is present as a free variable à la Heim (1982) generated on the Voice head itself. In so doing, it adds to the ontology of null arguments as well as suggesting that licensing of a grammatical object is dissociated from the projection of a specifier.
The default Case is a common phenomenon in Universal Grammar (UG). There are some languages which require that all Noun Phrases have Case. For these languages default Case meets something that has become known as the Case Filter (Rouveret and Vergnaud 1980). This is to say, if a particular Noun Phrase is not assigned a Case in association with some specification in some other part of the grammar, then default Case assignment principle can apply. Typical cross-linguistic default Cases are Nominative or Genitive, though the value of the default Case can vary from one language to another. While the default Case in English is accusative, it is nominative in most languages. The default mechanism which assigns this value is only invoked when the structural mechanism is not applicable. This paper argues, by citing multiple cross-linguistic examples, that assumption of a default Case in a language accounts for a better understanding of its syntactic and morphological structure. Based on Schütze’s (2001) proposal for English, it develops a theory to account for the default Case in Standard Arabic (SA). It argues that nominal expressions in SA do not receive nominative Case by assignment of other syntactic means. As such, its mechanism does not interact with the Case Filter, which is assumed to be a syntactic constraint. This paper shows that diverse phenomena in the distribution of nominative nominal expressions in SA can be treated using default Case. Previous studies have ample evidence that such phenomena from other languages have proved that instances for default Case are common, and furthermore, that there are opportunities within the Case framework to reduce the cross-linguistic differences in Case patterns in the event of choosing a default Case.
The present study examines the claim that definite relative clauses in Modern Standard Arabic exhibit free variation between resumptive pronouns and gaps. The implication of such a claim presents a problem for minimalist syntax that does not tolerate true optionality. To solve this problem, the study argues that the original claim is incorrect and that despite similarities in the PF outputs, resumptive relatives are syntactically different from gapped relatives. While the latter is derived from a standard VSO structure, I propose, the former is derived from a topic-comment structure that already contains an RP. Thus, the fact that resumptive relatives contain resumptive pronouns has nothing to do with relativization, as is generally assumed. The study demonstrates that both resumptive relatives and gapped relatives are derived by movement in contexts that do not involve islands. As it turns out, resumption in relatives is used only as a last resort strategy to save structures in which movement is genuinely blocked, such as islands, from crash. Altogether the study concludes that the variation observed does not reflect true optionality, a finding that supports robust economy principles of minimalist syntax.
تُعنى هذه الدراسة بمراجعة بعض الآراء الموجودة في التراث اللغوي العربي بخصوص بعض التراكيب النحوية في اللغة العربية. وتشتمل المراجعة على طرح الآراء الموجودة ونقدها ومن ثَم تقديم آراء جديدة مبنية على أساس إطار نظري حديث ومستندة إلى العديد من الأدلة والشواهد والقرائن، في ضوء ما تم التوصل إليه من نتائج في هذا المجال، بهدف تضمين الآراء الجديدة في المناهج الدراسية. وستتم مراجعة تراكيب لغوية مختلفة، مثل الجملة الاسمية (والحالات الإعرابية الخاصة بركنيها)، وعمل "إنَّ" وأخواتها وعمل "كانَ" وأخواتها وعمل "ظنَ" وأخواتها وكذلك طبيعة اسم الفاعل وعمله.
Every natural language can express the negation of a proposition p. However, while the semantic result of negating p is uniform, the syntactic means employed to do so vary. This dissertation argues that, from the syntactic point of view, there is no unitary notion of negation. The negative markers employed by different languages, or even by the same language, to express sentential negation exhibit different syntactic properties. Focusing on the study of Romance languages, this dissertation will first define what possibilities are available to the grammar and how they are realized in different languages. Then it will show that the syntactic properties which characterize the distribution of negative markers also determine their interaction with other components of the grammar and the mapping into a particular semantic result.^ We will focus on a set of closely related languages within the Romance family and study the properties of negative markers, i.e. elements of the type of Italian non, French pas, etc., as well as some properties of negative quantifiers. We will suggest that, although all negative markers appear within a functional projection NegP, such NegP's can be realized in two distinct structural positions: above and below the functional projection TP, the syntactic realization of tense. Italian non, for example, is the head of a functional projection labeled NegP-1, which selects TP as its complement, while French pas is the specifier of a functional projection labeled NegP-2 which occurs lower than TP in the structure and is therefore not dependent on the presence of tense for its appearance. This characterization, together with a distinction in terms of X-bar theory, can account for the distributional properties of these negative markers as well as for their behavior in imperatives and in the presence of clausemate negative quantifiers. This work is of interest descriptively, since it brings together data from many varieties of Romance, as well as theoretically, since it sheds light on the syntactic properties of sentential negation, on the relation between functional categories, and on the structure of the clause.
This 1996 volume brings together ten chapters on the Celtic languages using the insights of principles-and-parameters theory. The leading researchers in the field examine Welsh, Irish, Breton and Scots Gaelic in comparative perspective, making reference to recent work on English, French, Arabic, German and other languages. The editors have provided a substantial introduction which seeks to make the volume accessible to theoreticians unfamiliar with the Celtic languages and also to Celtic specialists who are less familiar with the theoretical framework underpinning the work. The Syntax of the Celtic Languages makes a substantial contribution both to linguistic theory and to our understanding of the Celtic languages.
Work on the movement of phrasal categories has been a central element of syntactic theorising almost since the earliest work on generative grammar. However, work on the movement of lexical elements, heads, has flourished only in recent years, stimulated originally by Chomsky's Empty Category Principle, and later by the work of Travis, Baker and Pollock. Parallel to these theoretical concerns, much attention has been focused on the description of verb-second languages and on the movement operations which place the verb in its 'second' position. This volume represents the latest work in an important field, from some of its leading researchers, and puts forward many ideas about relevant principles and parameters of Universal Grammar. It will have a significant impact on its field.
Many of the phenomena discussed in this paper usually fall under the domain of control and control theory, that is, the module of the grammar which is responsible for the assignment of reference to null subjects in infinitival and gerundive constructions primarily. It is the purpose of this paper, however, to challenge the existence of an independent module of control. Standard accounts of control and control phenomena are challenged in this work in two ways. First, it is proposed that the null element occupying the [NP, S] position in infinitives and gerunds is the same as the null element occupying the [NP, IP] (= [NP, S]) position in tensed sentences, both being an empty pronominal (so-called small pro). In other words, it is proposed that control effects are not restricted to, or derived from, the status of pronominal anaphors. It is further argued that the distinctions between null subjects in tensed clauses and null subjects in non-tensed clauses follow from independent principles, and not from the properties of the null pronominal itself. Secondly, we propose that control effects, in most accounts taken to involve crucially the fixing of reference of a null element, have, as such, nothing to do with the presence of a null element.
In some languages a subject consisting of a Conjunction Phrase agrees only partially with the verb. Aoun, Benmamoun, and Sportiche (1994) have presented an analysis for Arabic in which the conjuncts are clauses rather than Noun Phrases. This article argues that partial agreement is a subclass of a more general, and widespread, phenomenon: unbalanced coordination (Johannessen 1993b). An analysis is presented in which conjuncts can be NPs as well as other categories. The central idea is that the conjunction heads a Conjunction Phrase and that unbalanced coordination is a possible consequence of specifier-head agreement. This explains a correlation between the order of conjuncts that have different grammatical features and the order of head and complement in these languages.
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This squib is concerned with English V NP1 NP2 (double-object) constructions, as in (1), and in particular with the implications of such constructions for phrase structure principles governing certain anaphoric relations:
(1)
a. I gave John a book.
b.
I denied Fred his pay.
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Much of the research on word order in Romance languages lump Spanish and Italian together and contrast them with French. Spanish and Italian, but not French, are said to allow “free inversion” of the subject. This view is based on the fact that “subject post-posing” in French is only possible in the presence of a triggering element, namely an operator in Comp (a wh-word or its trace) or a subjunctive mood (which might also be analyzed as an operator in Comp). Such a construction, illustrated in (1c-e), is known as stylistic-inversion.1
Noam Chomsky, more than any other researcher, has radically restructured the study of human language over the past several decades. While the study of government and binding is an outgrowth of Chomsky's earlier work in transformational grammar, it represents a significant shift in focus and a new direction of investigation into the fundamentals of linguistic theory.This monograph consolidates and extends this new approach. It serves as a concise introduction to government-binding theory, applies it to several new domains of empirical data, and proposes some revisions to the principles of the theory that lead to greater unification, descriptive scope, and explanatory depth.Earlier work in the theory of grammar was concerned primarily with rule systems. The accent in government-binding theory, however, is on systems of principles of universal grammar. In the course of this book, Chomsky proposes and evaluates various general principles that limit and constrain the types of rules that are possible, and the ways they interact and function. In particular, he proposes that rule systems are in fact highly restricted in variety: only a finite number of grammars are attainable in principle, and these fall into a limited set of types.Another consequence of this shift in focus is the change of emphasis from derivations to representations. The major topic in the study of syntactic representations is the analysis of empty categories, which is a central theme of the book. After his introductory comments and a chapter on the variety of rule system, Chomsky takes up, in turn, the general properties of empty categories, the functional determination of empty categories, parasitic gaps, and binding theory and the typology of empty categories.Noam Chomsky is Institute Professor at MIT. The book is the sixth in the series Linguistic Inquiry Monographs, edited by Samuel Jay Keyser.
Since the earliest days of generative grammar, control has been distinguished from raising: the latter the product of movement operations, the former the result of construal processes relating a PRO to an antecedent. This article argues that obligatory control structures are also formed by movement. Minimalism makes this approach viable by removing D-Structure as a grammatical level. Implementing the suggestion, however, requires eliminating the last vestiges of D-Structure still extant in Chomsky's (1995) version of the Minimalist Program. In particular, it requires dispensing with the θ-Criterion and adopting the view that θ-roles are featurelike in being able to license movement.
We investigate the interaction of clitic left-dislocation (CLLD), wh-interrogatives, and topicalization in Lebanese Arabic. A wh-phrase or a topicalized phrase can be fronted across a CLLDed element derived by movement but not across a base-generated one. A CLLDed element cannot be fronted across another CLLDed element, a wh-phrase, or a topicalized phrase. These interception effects are accounted for only if Minimality is construed as a constraint on derivations rather than representations and if fronting of the CLLDed elements is seen to apply in the PF component. It is thus suggested that the mapping between overt Syntax and the Articulatory-Perceptual level is not trivial.
Korean exhibits a phenomenon that has been dubbedcase stacking ,i n which the "nominative" particleka is optionally suffixed to the subject in addition to the da- tive particle eykey. Numerous authors have claimed that "stacked"ka represents the realization of structural nominative case assigned to subject position, inde- pendent of inherent dative case. Under this view,ka-stacking provides prima facie evidence that structural licensing (a.k.a. abstract Case) can have a direct reflec- tion in morphological case marking. In contrast, I give numerous arguments that stacked ka is not a case morpheme at all, but a discourse particle that can mark focus, and therefore provides no evidence for this view of licensing. I show that stacked ka patterns closely with other uses of "case" particles that reflect not case but discourse status. In particular, accusativelul, like ka, can be stacked on other case particles to mark focus. I suggest how other noncase uses of these particles, including the so-called "ECM" construction in Korean, can be unified while main- taining the widespread crosslinguistic generalization that inherent case, as found on dative subjects, blocks the checking of nominative case (and phi-features) be- tween a subject and an Infl head. Similar "schizophrenic" uses of case morphemes in unrelated languages are also discussed. In the appendix, I consider the possi-
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This squib has two goals: to identify evidence for (strong) phases (Chomsky 2000, 2001), and to use this evidence to investigate the extensional definition of a phase. Chomsky (2000) states that CP is a phase, whereas TP is not, and (transitive) vP is a phase, whereas passive and unaccusative verb phrases (VPs) are not. The A. argues here that unaccusative and passive VPs are phases as well