Arabic-L:LNG:Arabic Word Order and Generative Grammar

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Fri 28 Dec 2007
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1) Subject:Arabic Word Order and Generative Grammar

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1)
Date: 28 Dec 2007
From:Zouheir Khalsi <list.khalsi at hotmail.com>
Subject:Arabic Word Order and Generative Grammar

Dear Arabic-l members,

I have been ‘lurking’ on this list for some time. But, the inquiry  
about Arabic and Generative Grammar and some of the responses to it  
pushed me to make some remarks since I am currently working on some  
research about subject-verb agreement in Tunisian Arabic within a  
Minimalist approach. The issue of Arabic word order and subject-verb  
agreement has received much discussion both within the Government  
Binding theory and the Minimalist Program; and I do not see how the GB  
framework cannot apply for Arabic data. While the Arabic data bring  
some challenges, it is such empirical data that would have some  
consequences on syntactic structures in general. Findings from Arabic  
and any other languages in the world would have to inform further  
refinements of  any theoretical model of linguistic analysis and not  
verse versa.
Arabic allows both verbal as well as Verbless clauses. Within the  
verbal clause (jumla fi3lia), Arabic may allow VS or SV orders. But  
the question is which word order is the unmarked pattern?

For some practical solutions on how to account for subject verb  
agreement in both GB and Minimalism, please, see the following  
references:

Aoun, Joseph, Elabbas Benmamoun and Dominique Sportiche. 1994.  
Agreement, word order, and conjunction in some varieties of Arabic.  
Linguistic Inquiry 25: 195–220.
Bahloul, Maher and Wayne Harbert. 1992. Agreement asymmetries in  
Arabic. Proceedings of WCCFL 11:15–31.
Bahloul, Maher. 2006. Agreement.  Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and  
Linguistics (EALL). pp. 43-48. BRILL, Leiden – Boston.
Benmamoun, Elabbas and Joseph Aoun. 1999. Patterns of partial  
agreement in Arabic. In Lappin, S and E. Benmamoun (Eds.), Fragments:  
Studies in ellipsis and gapping (pp. ). New York: Oxford University  
Press.
Benmamoun, Elabbas. 2000. Agreement Asymmetries and the PF Interface.  
In J. Lecarme, J. Lowenstamm and U. Shlonsky (eds.), Research in  
Afroasiatic Grammar. Benjamins, Amsterdam, 23-40.
Fassi Fehri, Abdelkader. 2000. Distributing features and affixes in  
Arabic subject verb agreement paradigms. Research in Afroasiatic  
grammar: papers from the third conference on Afroasiatic languages,  
Sophia Antipolis, France, 1996 / Ed. by Jacqueline Lecarme Jean  
Lowenstamm Ur Shlonsky. Amsterdam : Benjamins.
Harbert, Wayne and Bahloul M. 2002. Postverbal Subjects in Arabic and  
the Theory of Agreement. in U. Shlonsky and J. Ouhalla, eds., Themes  
in Arabic and Hebrew Syntax. ed. by Ur Shlonsky and Jamal Ouhalla, 45– 
70. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Mohammad, Mohammad A. 1990. The Problem of Subject-Verb Agreement in  
Arabic: Towards a Solution. Papers from First Annual Symposium on  
Arabic Linguistics. Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics, I. M. Eid.  
Amsterdam, Benjamins. xiii: 95-125.

For subject specificity see:

Halila, Hafedh. 1992.  Subject Specificity Effects in Tunisian Arabic.  
Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. USC.

Further comments are welcome.


Zouheir Khalsi
Bourguiba Institute for Modern Languages, Tunisia
Email: z.khalsi at hotmailcom

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End of Arabic-L:  28 Dec 2007